“Death Industry” Increasingly Sophisticated – Executive Digest

'Dragonfire' is a high-powered laser capable of hitting a coin from a kilometer away and costs less than 12 euros per shot: it is the latest model successfully tested by the British Ministry of Defense – a precision war machine, powerful and cheap. , is an example of how current conflicts in the world have accelerated the development of military technology, bringing them increasingly closer to autonomous weapons or killer robots.

In other words, a soldier can be thousands of kilometers from his objective and become a secondary actor in deadly attacks. Given the inaction of the world's major powers in regulating arms, the 'industry of death' is increasingly sophisticated and incorporates increasingly powerful weapons.

“States are still caught up in the diplomatic process during the arms race. They confuse things by delaying decision-making. There is no transparency or real exchange of information about the research and findings they carry out, and they are dedicated to distracting us,” said Reyes, a professor at Pablo de Olavite University in Seville and a member of the United Jimenez said. States Committee on Death by Autonomous Armed Systems (LAWS).

Find out what the new challenges of the 'business of death' are:

Directed Energy Weapons

The 117 million euro investment 'Dragonfire' is an example of an energy weapon which, according to the British government, can “hit targets at the speed of light and use an intense beam through them to cause structural failure. equivalent to using a heater”, making it a candidate technology for replacing missiles.
“This type of next-generation weaponry has the potential to revolutionize the battlefield, reducing reliance on expensive munitions and reducing the risk of collateral damage,” UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapp highlighted.

In the United States, the Pentagon is also researching similar technologies against attack cruises and cruise missiles. The Navy has already tested several directed energy systems and prototypes, although these have only been installed on a few ships on a trial basis.

Hypersonic missiles

Attack Cruise Missiles (HACM) are capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound or 6,174 kilometers per hour) and are capable of maneuvering while traveling through the atmosphere, making them relatively difficult to detect and intercept. For conventional ballistic missiles.

The US Air Force awarded Raytheon a contract worth 1.291 million euros for its development and first delivery. “The new funds will allow the agency to conduct additional research, development, testing and evaluation work for the HACM program through 2028,” an Army spokesperson told 'DefenseScoop'.

Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, acknowledged that Kinzel had used hypersonic missiles to attack “key elements of Ukrainian military infrastructure.” China also claimed to have the weapon and simulated a naval attack by using satellites to interfere with radars and make them undetectable.

Electromagnetic attacks

This latest Chinese test presented a new strategy aimed at electromagnetic systems. These attacks, according to a recent US Air Force document, “seek access to communications, navigation and location systems” to “detect, exploit, degrade, disrupt and avoid operational capabilities”.

kinetic energy

Using the same electromagnetic technology, but with other applications, China is also experimenting with weapons based on unexploded projectiles that reach hypersonic speeds and convert kinetic energy into destructive shocks and heat waves.

According to the 'South China Morning Post' newspaper, Huang Jie of the China Aerodynamic Research and Development Center conducted simulations showing that a 20-kilogram solid sphere at four times the speed of sound could disable a 40-pound tank. 60 tons – This occurs because the shock wave created by the impact travels through the vehicle, concentrating stresses in critical structural areas and causing deformations and fractures.

The United States also explored this type of development with the proposed 'General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems'.

Low altitude pursuit and assault artillery

Abbreviated as Lasso, these weapons are unmanned lethal systems designed to be carried by troops. They are equipped with a short-range missile cannon, a drone with a lethal payload, sensors and precision flight controls. They are capable of flying, tracking and attacking targets and armored vehicles out of line of sight.

Subsonic drones

The use of swarms of drones is already familiar in combat situations. Now the aim is to give them more destructive power. The company 'Anduril' provided for reuse a drone designed to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft before returning to its base. “The unmanned system, called 'Roadrunner', is an autonomous aerial vehicle powered by two jets that can land vertically and fly at high subsonic speeds,” the company said.

In this field, but with another strategy, the 'Air Launched Effects' (ALE) project is looking for small drones or payloads that can be launched from the air by larger unmanned or unmanned aircraft.

Unmanned ships

Similar to the well-known aerial drones, so-called 'unmanned surface ships' are autonomous vessels designed for anti-submarine and mine warfare missions. The United States has four units and has already tested them in five months of recently developed maneuvers in the Pacific.

“One of our goals is to put ships in as many different situations as we can. We want to explore where the limits are and, in doing so, limit the risk associated with unmanned operations,” said Captain Scott Searles, head of the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program.

Last December, Boeing delivered the first Orca unit, an 85-ton, 26-meter-long, high-strength underwater drone with a modular payload compartment that can autonomously navigate long distances, lay mines or perform other tasks. The crew on board.

Artificial intelligence

These are just a few examples of recent weapons developments accelerated by incorporating artificial intelligence tools into all areas of warfare, from system design to device manufacturing and operation, including cyber attacks.

Joaquín de los Santos, head of technology management at Navantia, the second largest company in the Spanish defense sector after Airbus, summed up the growing integration of AI during a meeting in Zurich (at IBM laboratories in Switzerland): “At first it was applied to human resources. and finance and legal sectors. Later, in industrial processes, with the creation of digital twins. Now it is being incorporated into security scenarios where quick decisions need to be made, with little data and in isolated and potentially hostile situations.

The technological convergence has led to the development of systems close to dangerous autonomous weapons, also known as killer robots, which have worried the international community – more than 100 countries failed at a convention on some conventional weapons last November. tool for these weapons.