Reference News, November 2 report: According to the Latin American News Agency on October 31, war in the 21st century is no longer solely dependent on rifles or tanks. Emerging technologies are changing the landscape of armed conflicts and reshaping the balance of global military power.
In today's battlefield, algorithms, drones, and hypersonic weapon systems are the main players, with computing speed and unlimited range being more important than the number of troops.
In this new situation, the Ukraine-Russia conflict shows that the reality of armed confrontation is changing, and weapons are also being reassessed.
Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Strategic and Technological Analysis in Russia, believes that the world is experiencing a "drone warfare revolution." An analysis by the International Committee of the Red Cross also agrees with this view, stating that "the increasing integration of emerging technologies not only changes the means of war but also the geographical landscape of war, the participants, and its consequences."
Yuri Baluyevsky, former chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, said that various types of drones with different shapes, sizes, and purposes are being deployed in various operations, thereby changing the structure of forces, weakening the value of certain traditional weapons, and changing combat tactics.
Some Western analysts admit that the frontline in Ukraine is currently the "most representative battlefield of modern technological warfare," where 20th-century tactics clash with 21st-century equipment.
Military analyst Dmitriy Kornev pointed out that for Moscow, the special military operation is also a catalyst for innovation: each mission provides data used to optimize algorithms, sensors, and propulsion systems, thus accelerating technologies that were previously in the experimental stage toward maturity. Russia recently tested the "Neuron" nuclear-powered cruise missile, a disruptive technology.
While Russia is advancing its defense industry, the United States is also strengthening its defense plans, developing long-range hypersonic weapons (LRHW) and experimental hypersonic vehicles, thus reviving the logic of nuclear deterrence, albeit wrapped in a technological facade.
These disputes demonstrate that the geopolitical landscape is being reshaped, leading to a new situation in arms races that has shifted from traditional nuclear balance models to accelerated innovation.
A study by the Spanish Center for Defense Studies warns that "modern warfare takes place in an environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity," where technological superiority determines both the outcome of wars and international political influence. (Translated by Wang Meng)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7567993683027526170/
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