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The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

mwi.usma.edu

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Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#2
I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#4
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

Please, China and Russia, don't do this.

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#5
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

> Entire wars could be made impossible.

Maybe, but it might make others go nuclear if there aren't conventional options available anymore.

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#6
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

Something like the “Dog Dod Grid” from Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age...

>> Atlantis/Shanghai occupied the loftiest ninety percent of New Chusan's land area - an inner plateau about a mile above sea level, where the air was cooler and cleaner. Parts of it were marked off with a lovely wrought-iron fence, but the real border was defended by something called the dog pod grid - a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats...

>> These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern about ten centimeters apart near the ground (close enough to stop a dog but not a cat, hence "dog pods") and spaced wider as they got higher.

Further reading: http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=243

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#7
post #5
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

> Entire wars could be made impossible. Maybe, but it might make others go nuclear if there aren't conventional options available anymore.

Canard or red herring used to justify militarism and military aggression. In our world when countries get too powerful to fight they usually simply don't and use proxies to fight conventional wars.

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#8
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

anti drone swarm drone: several dozen large-ish sized x8 hexacopters, capable of 2 hour flight time and carrying a 10kg load, with a gimbal mounted semiauto 12 gauge shotgun + large magazine of birdshot shells.

Drone swarms are possible, sure, but it's also quite possible to miniaturize existing concepts of antiaircraft missiles and guns, and automate those.

Or build swarms of disposable 2 meter wingspan size drones that can fly above a drone swarm, and drop chaff consisting of long lengths of fishing line. Tangle propellers.

Basically something like this, which is a bit smaller than the Zipline drones:

https://www.banggood.com/Believer-1960mm-Wingspan-EPO-Portab...

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#9
I’ve brought up this eventuality countless times in the past couple of years (including recently mentioning this in my software company).

I don’t think people are realizing the dangers to minitrization and ease of manufacturing small drones that could kill people. Either through mini bombs, or carrying diseases.

What are we doing about it? Seems like we aren’t doing anything

Re: The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming

#10
post #8
post #2

I would encourage countries like China or Russia to develop cheap mass drone swarm systems that can deny access to airspace to any adversary. A country could sell this sort of service for hundreds of billions of dollars to another country like an insurance policy. Entire wars could be made impossible. It would be great progress for the world.

anti drone swarm drone: several dozen large-ish sized x8 hexacopters, capable of 2 hour flight time and carrying a 10kg load, with a gimbal mounted semiauto 12 gauge shotgun + large magazine of birdshot shells. Drone swarms are possible, sure, but it's also quite possible to miniaturize existing concepts of antiaircraft missiles and guns, and automate those. Or build swarms of disposable 2 meter wingspan size drones…

anti anti drone swarm drone drone swarm: a swarm of those.
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