Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever.Once upon a time, a fighter drone was only a weapon of the superpowers, but now it is not. defense correspondent Jonathan Marks, everyone from extremists to small countries are now using it and that is what is changing the nature of war.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
A system of new weapons
If you look at the history of wars, it has often happened that a single system of weapons has become a symbol of the entire war era. The use of long bows by British archers for the first time in the Battle of Agencourt and the ground battle with heavy armored tanks in World War II are just a few examples.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
Fighter drones a system of new weapons
In the US war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, the unmanned drone MQ-1 Predator, also known as the UAV, became a popular weapon of its time.
That is why after the Cold War, the United States emerged as a world power that no one could challenge.
The drone’s value increased when the Predator, initially thought to be used only for aerial reconnaissance from the air, was equipped with Hellfire missiles.
After Predator, a drone called ‘Reaper’ was made for the purpose of hunting. It can fly longer distances than Predator and carry more ammunition. The names of these drones clearly indicate their purpose.
Washington’s enemies have the ability to kill them at any time and in the right place, wherever they can think. It is believed that these were the rapper drones that were used to kill Iranian General Qasim Soleimani outside Baghdad Airport in January 2020.
Drones are no longer limited to the major powers
For a short time, only the United States and Israel were capable of carrying out such attacks. You could call it the first era of fighter drones.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars
However, now many things have changed dramatically.
The war on drones has entered a new era in which many more players have joined. And the role of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown from counterterrorism to conventional warfare. And as technology improves and integrates with artificial intelligence, a third round of drone wars is unfolding.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
The drones have also helped the Ethiopian government counter insurgent attacks by the Tigre People’s Liberation Front, which has strengthened its position. The Ethiopian government has purchased armed drones from Turkey and Iran. Ethiopia is also believed to have gained access to Chinese-made Wing Long drones through the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE has also provided Chinese drones to its supporter General Khalifa Haftar during the ongoing civil war in Libya.
The role of drones has been crucial in many conflicts. In addition to the survival of Libya’s internationally recognized government, drones provided by Turkey during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict last year helped the Azerbaijani army gain control of the region from Armenia.
Wider use of drones
But drone strikes also raise a number of complex legal and ethical issues. How successful such attacks are depends on intelligence information. The hope that the use of drones could be made subject to some kind of arms control treaty did not materialize.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
new weapons
Although the United States is reluctant to give its latest drone technology to anyone other than close allies, other countries do not. That’s why the proliferation of drones or UAVs is accelerating.
Currently, more than 100 countries and non-state actors around the world have the capability of drones. Many of them also have access to armed drones.
Paul Share is director of studies at the Center for New American Security. He says the proliferation of drone systems will continue.
He says China is currently the world’s largest exporter of drones. But drones are no longer limited to major military powers. Powers like Iran and Turkey that have drone technology are selling these systems abroad.
According to Paul, commercial drone technology has become so commonplace that anyone can build an attack drone with the help of a few hundred dollars, and some extremist groups have done so.
Drones are a modest air power
He says the effect of robots on war isn’t is business as usual as they give a modest air capacity to any country. “Nations or gatherings that can’t bear the cost of costly contender planes can purchase drones. And keeping in mind that robots might not have the capacities of a contender fly, they really do have some level of air strike ability. Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
new weapons that could change future wars
“Drones are a danger to ground powers with the assistance of cutting edge advanced innovation, which empowers superior quality observation and exact focusing on.”
But the use of drones in regional conflicts and civil wars underscores the importance of drones in future wars.
While the United States and its allies have focused on the war on terror, Russia has experimented with wider use of drones in Syria.
Russia has overtaken US in using drones?
Russia’s drones have taken part in key reconnaissance missions in Syria, according to the Center for Naval Analysis at the Center for Russia, and a series of flights have identified ground targets for multi-rocket systems and fighter jets, including Russian artillery. ۔
He says the new concept, in which drones provide round-the-clock images of the battlefield and mark targets, is giving a new lease of life to the Russian military’s combat future because of the generals who fought before it. Did not have any such facility
The fighting in Ukraine, which involved regular Russian military personnel despite Russia’s denials, sheds light on Moscow’s future plans to use drones.
Several Russian-made drones have been shot down in eastern Ukraine. Samuel says that the main purpose of these drones was to spy on the conflict, but at the same time another important role was electronic warfare for which special Russian drones have been built.
Electronic warfare detects signals sent by the enemy and blocks their communication ability so that they lose the ability to communicate and become isolated.Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
Russia may still be almost a decade behind the United States in modern technology, but Russian forces have absorbed the use of drones better than the United States within their organization. According to Samuel, military drones are currently present in every department of the Russian Armed Forces.
“This is now evident during the fighting, when the Ukrainian armored units were identified in a matter of moments and their communications were jammed, after which they were subjected to devastating artillery shelling.”
Ukraine itself has Turkish-made armed drones used during the fighting in Danbas against pro-Russian rebels. Fighter drones a system of new weapons that could change future wars forever
Why is drone defense difficult?
Beyond the battlefield, extremists and armed groups are also using drones. But the question is, when the threat of a drone is understood, why is it so difficult to break it?
Paul Share says the drones used today are much smaller than a conventional fighter, so a variety of air defense systems are needed to detect them.
“Their speed is extremely low and they fly close to the ground, which means that most air defense systems are incapable of killing them.”
According to Paul, many countries are working to develop anti-drone capabilities and better and more organized systems will emerge in the next few years.
Another challenge is how to prevent large-scale drone strikes, as cheap drones can be made in large numbers. There is a lot of talk about future drone strikes.
There have been such attacks. In 2018, Syrian rebels attacked a Russian air base with 13 drones. But according to Paul Shara, the cluster of drones does not mean how many there will be, but it does mean how well the drones communicate with each other without human help.
Such attacks can create difficulties for defenders on the ground in different directions at the same time. Paul Share says that if that happened then the concept of war would change dramatically over time.
