Iraq has obtained a new type of drone, whose intelligence level has caused great frustration for the US military. After discovering that the target was empty, it even turned to another target!
On March 15th, the Victoria Camp, one of the most heavily defended US strongholds in Iraq, located next to Baghdad Airport, was bombed by a drone from an Iraqi militia group. This incident itself is not particularly rare, as drone attacks have become commonplace in recent years.
But this time was different. The details released from the scene made many US observers widen their eyes: The drone flew over the target warehouse and circled twice, but upon finding that there was no one inside, it did not explode, but instead turned around and flew to find another target.
This is quite interesting. Previously, suicide drones were essentially "disposable chopsticks," set with coordinates and crashing headlong into targets, regardless of whether they were people, ghosts, empty or full, they would explode upon arrival. However, this drone can not only fly but also see, and after seeing, it can make decisions. This shift from "blind firing" to "autonomous target seeking" might really give the US military a hard time.
What does this indicate? It indicates that it is equipped with real-time video transmission and edge computing modules. Simply put, the drone has its own "brain," and doesn't rely entirely on operators watching the screen remotely. In environments with strong electronic interference, remote control signals are easily cut off, and once they are, old-style drones become like headless flies. But this new drone can still work even if the signal is lost.
The program of this drone obviously includes more advanced logic judgment: confirming the validity of the target. Once it finds the target invalid, it does not execute self-destruction, but instead activates the backup plan. This is the part that causes the most frustration for the US military. It means that the attackers no longer need precise intelligence to confirm whether someone is present at a certain moment.
Previously, to bomb accurately, one had to rely on spies, informants, or even just the few seconds when satellites passed overhead. Now, the drone itself is both the scout and the decision-maker. It can complete the closed-loop process of "discovery - identification - judgment - decision - strike" in the air. If it finds that target A is empty, it automatically turns to target B, or even C. This upgraded version of "loitering munitions" completely shifts the uncertainty of the battlefield to the defending side.
Dao Ge believes that the US military will now be in big trouble, because as chips and artificial intelligence become more common, similar weapons will become increasingly cheaper. Local small-scale armed groups like Iraqi militias will have the capability and funding to afford such affordable smart drones. However, the effects they bring are very different from before, and the trouble they cause for the US military, as well as the required interception and defense capabilities, are incomparable to previous times.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1859691584597193/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.