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  • The technology of warfare is in constant flux.

  • I mean, there weren't even drones as we know them until late in the last century,

  • and now?

  • RELEASE THE SWARM.

  • Hey there friends, Trace here for DNews.

  • Military technology has been a driver of innovation for centuries.

  • Scientists, keen to see their research funded, have been recruited into government programs

  • and helped create some truly fearsome technology.

  • In the last few weeks, we've seen a number of pieces of military tech that have given

  • us the shudders

  • For example, in January 2017, the Pentagon announced they'd successfully launched 103

  • microdrones from F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets.

  • A DRONE SWARM!

  • In fact, according to the Pentagon's statement, the 103 microdrones are very much like a Zerg

  • swarm.

  • They're, quote, “not preprogrammed synchronized individuals, they are a collective organism,

  • sharing one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in

  • nature.”

  • End quote.

  • Let all those who oppose the Overmind feel the wrath of the swarm!

  • The modern unmanned aerial drone was first imagined by Nikola Tesla in the 1890s.

  • Now more than 100 years later, we've created a hydra-like swarm of six inch (16cm) autonomous

  • vehicles that could (according to Popular Mechanics) jam enemy communications, form

  • an ad-hoc communications network, carry explosives, trick or jam enemy radar, and even attack

  • individuals.

  • The terrifying goal is to create the drones in batches of 1,000 and be able to launch

  • them from fighter jets or large cargo planes.

  • Of course, in this crazypants future we'd also need a way to fight dronesso why

  • not lasers?

  • IT'S THE FUTURE, RIGHT?

  • In December 2016, the Department of Defense announced a 51-percent budget increase (to

  • 328 million dollars) fordirected energyweapons...

  • Fancy budget talk for LASERS.

  • The DoD's research group, DARPA, has been working on laser weapons for a long time.

  • They tried mounting lasers inside 747s, but they were relatively slow, and not particularly

  • accurate.

  • The Navy mounted a laser on the USS Ponce, which uses heat energy to destroy drones and

  • other targets, the Army has a laser on the back of a truck that can attack drones and

  • mortars, and the Marines are working on a humvee mounted laser of their very own.

  • Of course, this new research is still classified, but with such a sharp budget increase, there

  • must be something going on.

  • Lasers are still bulky energy hogs, but in an email to Seeker's own Eric Niller: the

  • director of the Directed Energy Professional Society said the biggest issue is just getting

  • the military to actually use lasers.

  • I mean, if we can shoot a drone with a bullet or other traditional projectile, why use a

  • laser?

  • There is one obvious reason, pollution.

  • Lasers are energy, but a bullet leaves behind a casing, and the lead from the projectile

  • itself.

  • And it's not just bullets, shell casings from grenades and explosives also are left

  • in warzones.

  • Over time, the lead from the bullets themselves can pollute ground water and poison the soil.

  • Once in the environment, lead causes damage to thebrain, blood, kidneys, heart, and

  • reproductive organsand can kill wildlife too.

  • Even though it sounds hippy dippy, the DoD has a solution: biodegradable, lead-free bullets!

  • Sadly, not the actual small bullets, just 40 and 120 millimeter sized casings to start

  • -- they're used in mortars and tanks.

  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed and tested bioengineered seeds that can be

  • embedded in the shells, that grow plants after they've been left in soil forseveral

  • months.”

  • Those plants then absorb chemicals and contribute to the rehabilitation of the warzone.

  • Yep, the U.S. Army could shoot shells that result in new forests.

  • Warfare of tomorrow might not be Terminators and Matrices.

  • Instead, we might be shooting lasers, at swarms of unmanned aerial drones, and if we do have

  • to fire a round, it might leave behind the seed of a new life.

  • The future is weird.

  • One thing is for sure, scientists will keep working on projects that push humanity forward,

  • and sometimes, it will be thanks to war.

  • For example, Ex-Nazis and Jewish scientists were responsible for getting us to the moon.

  • Amy's got the story for you here.

  • How do you feel about these?

  • Do you have a favorite?

  • Tell us in the comments, please subscribe for more DNews and thanks for watching.

The technology of warfare is in constant flux.

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战争的未来:激光大炮和无人驾驶飞机(The Future Of Warfare: Laser Cannons & Drone Armies)

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    joey joey 發佈於 2021 年 04 月 18 日
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