Technology in Warfare

Israel is exposing a dangerous new phase of modern warfare where low cost drone systems are rapidly outpacing traditional military defenses. These drones bypass electronic warfare systems by remaining physically connected to operators through fiber optic cables, allowing them to continue operating even in heavily jammed environments. The battlefield lessons first seen in Ukraine are now spreading across the Middle East, proving once again that drone warfare innovation moves faster than most military procurement cycles can adapt. As Israel scrambles to counter these evolving threats, the conflict is becoming another warning sign that scalable and manufacturable drone systems are fundamentally reshaping the future of warfare. As the CEO of Cobalt Academy and a combat veteran who served as an Air Defense Artillery Battle Captain in Syria, I have seen firsthand how quickly drone threats evolve in real combat environments. I was also the first California Army National Guard officer to successfully shoot down a hostile drone during operations in Syria, an experience that completely changed how I view the future of warfare and counter UAS operations. Through Cobalt Academy, we continue focusing on practical drone training, counter UAS analysis, and scalable drone innovation designed around the realities of modern combat rather than outdated assumptions from previous wars. #DroneWarfare #FPV #Israel #Hezbollah #CounterUAS #CUAS #MilitaryTechnology #NationalSecurity #DefenseTechnology #ModernWarfare #Drones #MiddleEast #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #UkraineWar #CobaltAcademy

🚀 Recent remarks by the CEO of German defense giant Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, sparked widespread backlash after he dismissed Ukrainian drone innovation as something akin to “housewives with 3D printers in kitchens.” Ukrainian leaders responded forcefully, noting that these supposedly “amateur” systems have become decisive battlefield tools, responsible for destroying thousands of Russian vehicles and shaping the modern character of warfare. The reality is clear to anyone observing the conflict closely: Ukraine has compressed the innovation cycle, fielding low cost, combat proven systems at scale while adapting faster than legacy defense bureaucracies. In modern war, results matter more than pedigree, and Ukraine’s drone ecosystem continues to deliver measurable operational effects every day. 🌍 At the same time, countries across the Middle East are actively seeking Ukrainian drone expertise precisely because it is battle tested against massed Iranian style threats. Ukraine is negotiating defense cooperation and export opportunities with nations such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, leveraging hard won experience intercepting large drone waves and integrating affordable defensive systems. This growing demand underscores a strategic lesson for Western militaries and industry alike: innovation is not defined by where technology is built, but by whether it works under fire. The United States and its allies should be studying Ukraine’s operational model, investing in its defense industry, and ensuring its warriors have the tools they need to win. Their battlefield ingenuity is not just defending Ukraine. It is rewriting the future of warfare for all of us. Details - https://lnkd.in/e3T8A54C #RosieTheRiveter #WomenPower #SlavaUkraini #StandWithUkraine #ArmUkraineNow #DeOppressoLiber

The recent conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Red Sea highlight how emerging, low-cost technologies are revolutionizing modern warfare. The U.S. military must take urgent steps to adapt, including rethinking its operational doctrines, training programs, and procurement processes. This shift is necessary to keep pace with the rapid deployment of innovative technologies that have allowed nations like Ukraine to achieve significant military successes against larger, better-equipped adversaries. Ukraine's experience, particularly its ability to cripple a substantial portion of Russia’s Black Sea fleet and resist large-scale ground assaults, demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating cutting-edge technologies into military strategies. Despite limited resources, Ukraine's use of mass-produced, cost-effective drones and other unmanned systems has been a game-changer. These technologies have allowed for the rapid scale-up of capabilities, something the U.S. must replicate through new initiatives and partnerships with defense manufacturers. The evolution of warfare underscores that we are at a critical juncture where traditional methods may no longer suffice. The future of combat increasingly involves inexpensive, mass-produced drones and robotic systems that can deliver substantial firepower and intelligence capabilities. The U.S. must learn from Ukraine's approach and incorporate these lessons into its defense strategy to maintain its military edge in an era of rapidly evolving technologies.

Commercial quadcopters have been on the mainstream gadget scene for 15 years, proliferating across industries and among hobbyists. There's a swanky DJI store on New York City's Fifth Avenue, and you probably have a neighbor, not to mention a roofer, who owns a drone. So when researchers at the embedded-device security firm Red Balloon started seeing surprising quadcopter accessories on Chinese shopping platforms like Temu and AliExpress, they didn't think much of it at first. As with any popular gadget type, there's a whole ecosystem of niche, wacky, and comical add-ons available for drones. But the more Red Balloon CEO Ang Cui thought about it, the more unsettled he and his colleagues became about how cheap and easy it would be for anyone to buy seemingly disparate add-ons that could easily turn a mainstream quadcopter into a war machine. The accessories the researchers found include AI drone guidance modules—essentially small mounted cameras that use object recognition to identify humans and road vehicles at long range—and miles-long fiber optic tethers. Like plugging an ethernet cable directly into your laptop, miles-long tethers allow drones to fly around a large area without being vulnerable to disruption by signal jammers. The researchers recognized them from battlefield footage and other reports that such tethers—not to mention AI guidance modules—are being used by both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war to drop explosives or autopilot crash entire drones themselves into tracked objects without requiring operator control. The fact that battlefield technology is widely available in the United States and around the world at low cost augurs a climate in which any actor—from criminal syndicates to paramilitary groups, from disgruntled employees to ostracized teens—can quickly and cheaply gather the needed equipment to remotely go on a destructive and violent rampage.

I recently began a non-resident fellowship with the Atlantic Council's Forward Defense program. My first contribution is this new blog post at The New Atlanticist, about long-range strikes with DIY drones in Ukraine and Russia and the implications for the future of warfare. The drone technology for covert actors to cheaply penetrate deep behind enemy lines, avoid electronic and kinetic defenses, and precisely strike military targets has existed since roughly 2012. However, integrating and operationalizing the technology has traditionally required climbing a steep learning curve. The Ukrainians are rapidly climbing this learning curve, which will lower the barrier to entry for other actors in the future.

Excited to share my latest Center for a New American Security (CNAS) report: Evolution Not Revolution: Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine. This report examines the evolving role of drones in the war in Ukraine. It concludes that drones have indeed transformed the battlefield by providing accessible and affordable capabilities at a scale that did not previously exist. Drones are making it difficult to concentrate forces, achieve surprise, and conduct offensive operations. While drones are not more survivable than crewed aircraft, they enable greater risk acceptance. Moreover, drones do not have to be survivable if they are cheap and plentiful, as they can attain resiliency by reconstitution.    Nevertheless, the overall impact of drones has been more evolutionary than revolutionary. Drones connected to ground-based fires units have made common artillery shells precision weapons. First-person view kamikaze drones can accurately hit mobile targets, making the frontlines even more lethal. But even large numbers of small drones cannot match the potency of artillery fire and thus cannot serve as substitutes for howitzers. Also, while drones provide affordable airpower, they have not replaced traditional air forces nor been able to obtain air superiority.    Some additional key findings of the report include:   -Ukraine has consistently out-innovated Russia with commercial technologies and software, but Russian forces have quickly adapted and emulated Ukrainian successes.   -Volunteer networks have performed an unprecedented role in acquiring, modifying, and building commercial and DIY drones for both Ukrainian and Russian troops.  -Russia has an edge in military drones, which enable its forces to see and strike farther behind the front lines, while Ukrainian forces have gaps in this area.   -In the Ukraine war, drones have operated in stacks rather than swarms.  -Russian and Ukrainian forces are using long-range kamikaze drones for deep strategic strikes.  -Both Russia and Ukraine are experimenting with counter-drone capabilities, but Russia has long invested in electronic warfare, which remains the most effective counter. This is the first of two new reports on drones and the future of warfare. The second authored by Hannah Dennis, Molly Campbell, and I will come out this spring, and includes a comparative analysis of three wars involving drones, including Ukraine, the Libyan Civil War, and Nagorno-Karabakh. The forthcoming report will also consider how drones could be used in a potential war against China in the Indo-Pacific.    https://lnkd.in/d2zKrJ_E

Commercial drones are revolutionizing modern warfare, and it's not just about military power anymore. A $1000 commercial drone can now defeat a $4M tank. Here's what this means for the future of technology: The democratization of military tech in Ukraine has shattered conventional wisdom about warfare and innovation. What used to require billions in military spending can now be achieved with commercial technology. The game-changing shift comes from 5 key developments: • FPV drones delivering precision strikes at 1/1000th the cost • Drone-vs-drone combat creating new aerial warfare doctrine • Commercial drones neutralizing advanced armor & aircraft • AI integration enabling autonomous drone swarms • Small forces effectively challenging major military powers The most fascinating part? These aren't military-grade systems. They're commercial drones, often built with off-the-shelf components. This represents a fundamental shift in how we think about technological advancement. The traditional equation of "bigger budget = better capability" is breaking down. Ukraine's "Kropyva" system proves this point perfectly: • Uses commercial drones • Integrates with AI for targeting • Achieves military-grade precision • Costs a fraction of traditional systems As someone who's spent years researching AI and robotics, I'm seeing a clear pattern: Technology is becoming democratized at an unprecedented rate. The implications extend far beyond military applications: • Innovation speed matters more than budget size • Commercial tech is catching up to specialized systems • Accessibility drives advancement more than exclusivity • Small teams can now compete with major institutions The real opportunity isn't in building more expensive systems. It's in making advanced technology accessible to everyone who wants to innovate. This is why at @ScaledFoundations, we're focused on democratizing robotics and AI technology. Because the future belongs to those who can innovate quickly, not those who spend the most. ↓ Follow me @akapoor_av8r for more insights on AI, robotics, and the democratization of technology. Sources: https://lnkd.in/g4DWysd5 https://lnkd.in/g2yq4rzh

Today marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – a period among the most transformative in the history of modern warfare. In February 2022, most analysts expected tanks, artillery, and massed formations to define the conflict. Instead, we witnessed the rapid rise of low-cost weaponized drones reshape the battlefield in real time. What began as ad hoc quadcopters deploying grenades has evolved into industrial-scale drone warfare. FPV strike drones have given way to autonomous navigation and swarms, and even lower-tech adaptations like fiber-optics to circumvent jamming. Real-time ISR feeds are piped directly into targeting loops, while software updates are pushed mid-conflict. Engineers and operators iterate together in days, not years. The impact on the battlefield is undeniable. Russia and Ukraine now deploy tens of thousands of drones per month. Drone coverage shapes defensive lines. Dispersion is mandatory. Maneuver is constrained by what can be seen and struck from above. And grouped armor or aircraft without comprehensive air defense is a glaring liability. The lesson from the Ukraine-Russia conflict is bigger than just drones: it’s about how the pace of adaptation now defines the pace of victory. The side that iterates fastest survives, even in the face of overwhelming odds. This is a preview of what’s to come. Future conflicts, especially those between near-peer adversaries, will not allow for a transition period. When kill chains are compressed to seconds and unmanned systems are fielded, defeated, redesigned and redeployed within days, years-long acquisition cycles designed to refine the “perfect” weapon are already too slow. If the United States and its allies want to win the innovation race ahead of the next big war, we cannot wait until we are locked in a firefight to discover what works. We need: - Continuous experimentation at the speed of conflict - Clear, coherent demand signals to industry - Acquisition pathways built for iteration - Open and interoperable systems built for seamless integrations Four years ago, drones were a disruptive tool. Today, they are foundational to how wars are fought. And while Ukraine built a wartime R&D pipeline out of necessity, we need to build ours out of foresight – before it’s too late.

Ukraine’s recent Operation Spider’s Web marks a pivotal shift in the dynamics of modern conflict. By deploying domestically developed FPV drones from within Russian territory, Ukraine successfully targeted and destroyed over 40 strategic bombers across multiple airbases, including sites in Siberia—some 4,000 km from the front lines . This operation underscores Ukraine’s growing prowess in asymmetric warfare and highlights the vulnerabilities of even the most fortified military assets. However, this advancement also signals emerging challenges for global security. The accessibility and effectiveness of such drone technologies raise concerns about potential threats to critical infrastructure worldwide, including in the United States. As these technologies become more widespread, the risk of their misuse by non-state actors or adversarial nations increases, necessitating a reevaluation of our defensive strategies. #Ukraine #DroneWarfare #NationalSecurity #DefenseInnovation #awymetricwarfare #dod

Many Ukrainian companies are working on a major leap forward in the weaponization of consumer technology, driven by the war with Russia. The pressure to outthink the enemy, along with huge flows of investment, donations and government contracts, has turned Ukraine into a Silicon Valley for autonomous drones and other weaponry. What the companies are creating is technology that makes human judgment about targeting and firing increasingly tangential. The widespread availability of off-the-shelf devices, easy-to-design software, powerful automation algorithms and specialized artificial intelligence microchips has pushed a deadly innovation race into uncharted territory, fueling a potential new era of killer robots. https://lnkd.in/emMdNQyA