WARFARE INNOVATIONS

by David Nuttle

Drone warfare, such as that developed during Ukraine's war with Russia, changed many aspects of warfare. Recon, scouting, intel collection, battlefield monitoring, target details, & target surveillance may all be accomplished by drones with special cameras. Monitoring of battlefield communications is assisted by drones with listening/ intercept devices. Unique explosive means can be installed on inexpensive drones with supporting systems to cause damage or destruction of multi-million dollar, tanks, APCs, artillery, aircraft, troops in any concentrated form, radar, military headquarters, ammo dumps, assembly areas, and even ships or submarines using naval drones. Innovative additions to drones facilitate their use to take down other drones and missiles. The battlefield of today is far different than any of past years for any armed conflict.

In the last few years, a number of new weapons have been developed. IEDs (improvised explosive devices) caused considerable harm to U. S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other new weapons include lasers, rail guns, hypersonic missiles, sound blasters, improved nukes (nuclear bombs), and nuclear HEMP (high altitude electro-magnetic pulse) weapons for the large area destruction of electronics and power grids. PGMs (precision guided munitions) in need of sensors and sophisticated electronics have been developed. A very expensive GPS (Global Positioning System) has to be maintained to support some new weapons. Satellites to facilitate communications must also be maintained. New biological, chemical, and unique psychological weapons have been developed with more under development.

All the above weapons innovation require that we fund expanded intelligence as well as

counterintelligence efforts that are very expensive. Moreover, new weapons typically require development of new defensive systems to protect Americans and residents of allied nations we assist. One example is the "Golden Dome" that POTUS Trump has proposed to help give Americans protection from missiles and/or hypersonic missiles to include those with nuclear weapons. Added to this new effort, we are moving into space to employ defensive and new offensive weapons from space, the moon, and/or planets when they are eventually reached as result of Space Force development. The world has become a very dangerous place with all the new weapons and hostile nations seeking means to attack the U. S. and others.

Some weapons systems may be partly, if not totally, neutralized. A good example is Viet communist development of underground facilities to lower risks from U. S. aerial bombing and artillery during the Vietnam War. Today, we are witnessing Iran go underground to help protect development of nuclear bombs to destroy Israel and the U. S. North Korea has been doing the same for a few years while threatening South Korea and the U. S.

The U. S. has been slow to develop the industrial means to provide all these new weapons while also increasing the means to soon replace all the weapons and ammo we have made available to Ukraine in support of its efforts to defend against armed attacks from Russia. In addition, the weapons supply chain for the U. S. still has too many foreign sources to include the PRC (China). This fact creates a major security vulnerability. The E. U. has a similar very significant problem, and they are now facing possible armed conflict with Russia.

We need to be aware that terrorist groups may employ some of said new technologies to facilitate terrorist attacks. We should expect they may use drones with cameras to take the photos needed to plan attacks. In addition, we must assume they would use drones with explosives to reduce resources needed to make horrific terrorist attacks. The U. S. has a long list of soft targets that would be easy to attack with drones. Terrorists also like simple, quick, and impromptu attacks such as starting a fire in a dry national forest during a high wind to optimize use of arson. We should also anticipate chemical and biological attacks by terrorists. It is possible that the PRC (China) weaponized and globally released the COVID-19 virus to use a pandemic for worldwide terrorism. The means of warfare has dramatically changed endangering us all.

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