The defense company Thales is testing combat drone technologies, capable of inspecting the surroundings and striking, provided the military authorizes it. We attended a first demonstration.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and combat drones, the marriage the military has been waiting for, is starting to come to fruition. The French group Thales unveiled its latest technology this Wednesday, October 16, called Swarm Master, which uses algorithms integrated into mini-drones.
Concretely, an operator remains in the loop to launch the mission. But the swarm of drones takes off and reacts on the front according to the elements it detects.
Several devices manufactured by the Parrot company carefully wait for instructions before taking off. The soldier orders them to inspect an area before moving there in a vehicle. Drones buzz over some woods and detect what look like mines along the way. They will immediately alert the squad and offer them different routes.
Suicide drones informed by other drones
The question that everyone is obviously asking is whether these machines have offensive capabilities. Yes, provided a human gives the green light.
In another demonstration, larger devices monitor terrain designed by the military. The machines prowl the sky, until one of them comes across a suspicious vehicle. The drone provides information to the operator, who decides whether or not to neutralize it. The model in question is capable of dropping shells above enemy elements.
The last presentation shows us a similar scenario. This time, it is the unmanned aircraft that call on one of their “colleagues”. The alert sent to the operator will suggest sending a suicide drone which will charge towards the enemy vehicle to pulverize it, after its detection by the other models.
Drones more suited to modern warfare
In the war between Ukraine and Russia, a drone is still guided by a single pilot. Thales wants to put an end to this duo, by changing the scale somewhat, with an intelligent swarm, always supervised by a single soldier.
General Bernard Barrera, land defense advisor for the French company, lists several advantages of integrating AI into these machines which will “ surprise the enemy “. According to him, these devices offer “ a step ahead by accelerating reconnaissance missions on the ground ».
Once this information is acquired, the military will be able to create “ a saturation effect », Explains the general: the drones will launch simultaneous and varied attacks, which can sow panic among the adversary.
Finally, these technologies should be able to resist jamming, the great enemy of drones in theaters of operation. Unmanned aircraft have certainly established themselves in the war between Russia and Ukraine, but they are also finding it more and more difficult to reach their target with these interference systems which are also becoming more sophisticated.
Swarm Masters should be able to collect data and bring it back to the pilot despite network interference. Most of these technologies are currently being tested by the French army, which aims to adapt to the new requirements of modern combat.
Source: www.numerama.com
