Drone swarms are a new concept and are linked to the development of artificial intelligence and networked military units, a futuristic battlefield application that uses the latest advances in technology.
The use of this kind of technology in conflict has raised concerns for years as human-rights groups decried the advent of “killer robots.” Evidence shows that what is actually happening is not the creation of “killer robots,” but rather the use of technology to enable drones and other autonomous or unmanned systems to work together.
Why this matters is because other countries in the region are working on new technologies as well. Iran used drones and cruise missiles to attack Saudi Arabia in September 2019. Turkey has built a drone that reportedly “hunted down” people in Libya, although much remains shrouded in mystery regarding how autonomous the drone was and whether it really hunted down adversaries using artificial intelligence.
Regardless of how Turkey’s Kargu-2 autonomous drone worked, media headlines said it may represent the first use of “AI-armed drones,” and the “new era” of robot war may be upon us.