Warfare // Current TV

When the war in Afghanistan kicked off, the U.S. military only had a handful of drones or unmanned weapons on the battlefield. Now it’s one of the military’s main concerns as they race to outdo the competition developing innovative robots that do the dirty work. Technology is always changing and here’s a look at some of the recent developments in unmanned warfare that’s making its way to a war zone.

1. Micro aerial vehicles. Measuring just 13 inches, micro air vehicles are small, but not too small, allowing them to photograph large areas and bring back the footage. The first version created by Honeywell is a bit noisier than military would like and they’re creating a second generation model that will bring back better images and even less detectable sometime next year.

2. The X-47B. This is an amazing unmanned aerial vehicle that seems to be straight from the movies. The X-47B is more along the lines of what the future of unmanned warfare will look like, with unmanned vehicles able to carry out missions because they’re equipped with weapons. This one carries up to 4,500 pounds of weapons, making it a deadly weapon that will float around and strike (hopefully) at the right time.

3. Robosoldiers. While the U.S. focuses on unmanned planes, Israel is fixated on the robosolider. They’re combining what they already know about UAVs and implementing “see-shoot” robotic soldiers that are actually trained by military officials in closed quarters. Israel’s ultimate plan is to have the Israel-Gaza border be the first border manned by these robosoldiers.

4. Flying saucers. The Department of Defense claims these smaller UAVs will be optimal during warfare in urban areas. They’re smaller than most aerial UAVs and cost less to produce. It’s battery powered and there are versions being made all over the world, but only prototypes have been tested. Will flying saucers ever make it to actual battle? Maybe, but it seems other models are outdoing the progress made with saucers.

For the rest, please go to:

link: http://www.criminaljusticedegrees.com/robot-wars-10-recent-developments-in-unmanned-warfare-you-havent-heard-aboutWhen the war in Afghanistan kicked off, the U.S. military only had a handful of drones... more

eva2
added this
1 year ago
|
1 comment

Iron Man-style suit "to feature in war within 5 years"

A robotic suit that gives the wearer superhero-like strength will be used by soldiers... more

richjm
added this
1 year ago
|
55 comments

Congress to Sneak Internet ‘Kill Switch’ in Defense Bill !!

A federal cybersecurity bill that critics say creates a presidential "kill... more

SushiBandit
added this
1 year ago
|
27 comments

Islam Explained in Layman’s Terms! | In Christ Free

Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat.... more

OnTimeTruth
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

Flower Warfare - Psychedelic Action Scene

Rico wants his stuff back, but unlike your usual action packed gun fight, this video... more

Mcellie
added this
1 year ago
|
1 comment

Freedom's Requiem

By David P Shirk It is foolish to attack what you do not understand. Being foolish... more

shanklinmike
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

Hey Electronic Arts, when you going to do a pirate video game?

My next Vanguard special due out Dec 2, is called Remote Control Warfare. Without giving too much away the premise is simple. As warfare evolves its becoming increasingly sophisticated, and now technology is allowing us to conduct over the horizon warfare in a way we never could before. One of the technologies we look at is the Predator drone. The Predator is becoming an increasingly famous player on the battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But one of the interesting things I found when I was researching this story, with producer Lauren Cerre, is that the Predator is actually being employed in over a dozen countries right now. And sure enough it related to two of my old stories, Pirates and Mogadishu. They are using the predator to patrol over 2.1 million square miles of ocean in the Gulf of Aden which has become a hotbed of maritime piracy.

What Lauren and I found on our journey around the country looking at the changing face of warfare, was that war is rapidly is starting to more and more resemble a video game. In one scene we even go to a military recruiting center that uses video games to solicit tech savvy gamers into the Army to fight future wars. Since the Predator is kind of the mother of all remote control technologies, and they are actually employing it against pirates right now, I couldn’t help but think that the gaming industry cant be far behind. There is actually a blurring of the line between actual war, and video games that depict it. Although I'm not a gamer at all (as is very obvious in the story as I crash about everything they have me play), I am pretty sure that a counter-piracy video game would be pretty cool, and realistic too. So, pirates, video, games, remote control warfare; that’s got to be a winning combination. Thank you EA, you know where to send the commission check to.

Recently on the Vanguard Blog:
- Christof’s Doc, the Porn Community, and Obscenity… - Mitch Koss
- You Have a College Degree: So What? - Tracey Chang
- What Transformers 2 has to do with Japan's falling population - Adam Yamaguchi
- Why Should You Trust Us? - Mitch Koss
- My Second Tour of Sri Lanka - Mariana van Zeller
- Chinese Mobsters and Megacities - Joanne ShenMy next Vanguard special due out Dec 2, is called Remote Control Warfare. Without... more

klarsen
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Wargaming

It is said that history repeats itself but sometimes it can actually change. That is... more

FHProductions
added this
5 years ago
|
26 comments

Who Got the Last Laugh?

An retired soldier of the Viet-Cong tells the story of how he and his children came to... more

Maranatha_Hay
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

CIA: Terrorists to Nuke US Cities | Homeland Security

A new report by retired longtime intelligence officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, who served as chief of the CIA's Weapons of Mass Destruction Department, accuses the U.S. government of seriously misreading al-Qaida's operational objectives. "Al-Qaida's reasoning," according to Mowatt-Larssen's new report from Harvard's Kennedy School, "runs counter to analytic convention that equates the ease of acquisition of chemical, biological or radiological weapons with an increasing likelihood of terrorist use - i.e., a terrorist attack employing crude weapons is therefore more likely than an attack using a nuclear or large scale biological weapon."

"In fact, it is the opposite" of that conventional wisdom, according to the analysis, entitled "Al-Qaida Weapons of Mass Destruction Threat: Hype or Reality." Al-Qaida's motivations suggest "the greatest threat is posed by the most effective and simple means of mass destruction, whether these means consist of nuclear, biological, or other forms of asymmetric weapons."

That makes all the scarier the scolding that came this week from the congressionally authorized Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation. That panel gave the Obama administration an F grade for its performance in preparing the U.S. homeland for a terrorist attack that utilized biological warfare. - Newsmax

Dominant Social Theme: Batten down the hatches.

Free-Market Analysis: We follow up yesterday's somewhat controversial column "Lieutenant Colonel Says US Coup Feasible" with this item from Newsmax (and perhaps elsewhere as well) which is actually entitled, "Former WMD Chief: Al-Qaida Awaiting Nukes." We focus on analyzing this story because it is yet another variant in our opinion of the authoritarian meme that has continually retained popularity with the US military, America's 16 separate spy agencies and, for some reason, many in the alternative media.

Yesterday we discussed the potential for martial law in the West and especially in America, and pointed out the Internet's never-ending fascination with this potential state of affairs, especially in America. But we then suggested that a gradualist strong-man model followed by a Hitler or Mussolini was perhaps more likely than the naked declaration of martial law by an Obama presidency (or any other) for the foreseeable future (or near future anyway).

If you missed yesterday's coverage of this issue, click here to read now.

We pointed out that, especially in America, the size of the country, the lack of programs to control gun ownership (despite every effort) and the basic culture of the republic, which still abides, would spell no end of trouble for a political class that decided to solve its problems with a brutal military solution. This is NOT to say it could not happen - anything can happen - but an abrupt attempt at a military takeover, especially of America, would more likely result in an endless guerilla-style insurrection than a docile and pacified nation.

The "martial law" meme, we suggested, was (at least potentially and in-part) a power-elite promotion designed to frighten people, especially those with libertarian leanings, and make them feel hopeless and helpless. The promotion itself (if that is what it is), is being cleverly combined with the limnings of an increasingly authoritarian state that includes an ever-more militarized police force and "cooperation" between federal, state and local policing authorities - as if such totalitarian efficiencies are actually a net positive for civil society (they aren't).

Britain of course is far down this road, but the US is hurrying down it, too. We would suggest that the unseemly haste we observe on the way to "endless policing for endless security" is aided and abetted by a military and intelligence community that is happy to reinforce every social fear available. Not only that, but we havA new report by retired longtime intelligence officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, who served... more

WeAreChangeKy
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Our "War" With Al Qaeda Is Getting Us Nowhere

Dick Cheney says President Obama is "trying to pretend that we are not at war" with terrorists. There is only one thing I have to say about that: I sure hope so.

Frankly, if I had my wish, we would be on our way out of Afghanistan not in, we would be letting Pakistan figure out which Taliban they want to conspire with and which ones they want to fight, we would be letting Israelis and Palestinians figure out on their own how to make peace, we would be taking $100 billion out of the Pentagon budget to make us independent of imported oil — nothing would make us more secure — and we would be reducing the reward for killing or capturing Osama bin Laden to exactly what he’s worth: 10 cents and an autographed picture of Dick Cheney.

Am I going isolationist? No, but visiting the greater China region always leaves me envious of the leaders of Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, who surely get to spend more of their time focusing on how to build their nations than my president, whose agenda can be derailed at any moment by a jihadist death cult using exploding underpants.

Could we just walk away? No, but we must change our emphasis. The "war on terrorists" has to begin by our challenging the people and leaders over there. If they’re not ready to take the lead, to speak out and fight the madness in their midst, for the future of their own societies, there is no way we can succeed. We’ll exhaust ourselves trying. We’d be better off just building a higher wall.

As the terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman noted in an essay in The Washington Post: "In the wake of the global financial crisis, Al Qaeda has stepped up a strategy of economic warfare. ‘We will bury you,’ Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev promised Americans 50 years ago. Today, Al Qaeda threatens: ‘We will bankrupt you.’ " And they will.

Our presence, our oil dependence, our endless foreign aid in the Middle East have become huge enablers of bad governance there and massive escapes from responsibility and accountability by people who want to blame all their troubles on us. Let’s get out of the way and let the moderate majorities there, if they really exist, face their own enemies on their own. It is the only way they will move. We can be the wind at their backs, but we can’t be their sails. There is some hope for Iraq and Iran today because their moderates are fighting for themselves.Dick Cheney says President Obama is "trying to pretend that we are not at... more

WeAreChangeKy
added this
2 years ago
|
10 comments

Group Thinker: Researcher Gets $2.9 Million to Further Develop Swarm Intelligence: Scientific Americ

With an eye on the potential that swarm intelligence holds for the development of... more

BUILDUSMAXIMUS
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

President Obama's Afghan Plan

After watching President Obama's Address on his Afghanistan plan, I found it hard... more

Rickharmon25
added this
2 years ago
|
1 comment

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Warfare

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved