Written By Victoria Oh
Edited By Kapil Ramasubramanian A New Era of Drone Warfare
Drone warfare continues to make major advancements, as we saw with Ukraine successfully striking Russian bases with their new innovative approach of upscaling the militarization of drones. However, recently, in the United States, the Pentagon is prospecting to partake in advancing their drone warfare against Chinese threats.
China's Military Build-Up
Over the years, China has continued to upscale its military build-up by manufacturing and stocking missiles, ships, tanks, jets, and drones. In addition, according to The Wall Street Journal, US military leaders have warned about how China seeks to take control of Taiwan. These actions are sought out as threatening by the US because these large amounts of weapons can be used against a multitude of other countries for blackmailing and intimidation.
What formative plans were proposed for utilizing drones?
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/09/replicator-program-will-scale-up-to-thousands-of-smart-ai-combat-drones-within-24-months.html
The Pentagon's Drone Plans There were two plans proposed regarding advancing drone usage as part of the defense system. One of them was the replicator program proposed by Kathleen Hicks, the Deputy Defense Secretary. It was a plan to purchase and produce a mass amount of drones that could be deployed to crash into targets, for reconnaissance, and to confuse radar. These drones could most likely be used for one-time use, yet still, it would be cheaper than flying a whole jet in order to do the same tasks the drone can fulfill. There would also be no concern for the safety of jet pilots since these drones are unmanned.
The secondary plan is by the air force, known as "collaborative combat aircraft,” where large drones would accompany the jets during their flight in order to shield the aircraft as well as add signals to the radar system from the opposing side. For example, if there were to be a B-21 bomber with two unmanned drones flying next to it, there would be three dots showing up on the radar system, making it seem like there are three manned aircraft instead of one.
Strengthening National Defense
Given the benefits of drones in warfare, the Pentagon wants to purchase nearly 2,000 drones within 18 months in order to readily use them in their prospective programs. Thus, it can be expected that utilizing these drones will no doubt be of great aid and support to the United States militia and advance the defense system.
Comments