Drone Wars

China has a major edvantage in a global war because I suspect, a large amount of battle will be conducted via drones. This also means smaller states such as Japan and even Israel (regionally) could substantially increase their relative power with mass production of autonomous weapons systems.

C4isrnet: ‘Drone Wars’: New book wonders who will be the next drone superpower

In March 2019, at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona, flying over the majestic high desert, another futuristic drone called the XQ-58A Valkyrie took flight. It was supposed to be able to penetrate enemy air defense. It was designed to be low cost and was pushed by the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio.

The plane, which basically looks like the stealthy F-117 with its cockpit cut off, was built by Kratos, a company that was also making the drone swarm dubbed “Gremlins.” The XQ-58 would cost only several million dollars each. After so much spending, the Air Force was now looking to develop ideas that were affordable — perhaps drones that could be wingmen, or fly more autonomously and conduct missions themselves. The new shoestring budget was called low-cost, attritable aircraft technology.