DroneSwarms

The world has now seen the first true drone swarm use in combat. (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2282656-israel-used-worlds-first-ai-guided-combat-drone-swarm-in-gaza-attacks/) For context on what this means and where the technology is going, a quick 🧵 on stuff I've written + others I think are particularly good. 1/

At @WarInstitute I argued realizing the full potential of drone swarms requires focusing on four capabilities: swarm size, diversity, customization, and hardening. 2/ https://t.co/0m2c1RQs0h

@paul_scharre writing for @CNASdc takes a more conceptual look at the value of drone swarms, highlighting their role in generating mass, integrating information in a complex network, speeding up cycles of warfare, and enabling synchronized attacks. 3/ https://t.co/dt1CnsDo8A

@M__Verbruggen has a great piece with @SIPRIorg on the technical challenges with creating such a complex network, the various communication structures that enable it, and what that means for human control. https://t.co/NRYblwyJ9Q 4/

As I argued in @BulletinAtomic the challenges of human control with autonomous systems mean that drone swarms may become future weapons of mass destruction, posing similar risks potentially up to the scale of low-level nuclear weapons. 5/ https://t.co/6Nx63CIre3

However, as I noted in @ArmyMadSci, how worried we should be depends on who "we" are. Virtually no counter-drone system is designed to handle swarms; however, great powers may be able to develop them well-before swarms become truly massive in scale. 6/ https://t.co/B2DBYFZr51

And speaking of drone defenses, @paul_scharre has another wonderful piece in @WarOnTheRocks with a guide on countering swarms, noting the need for low-cost, rapid-fire capabilities and opportunities to manipulate drone swarm autonomy. 7/ https://t.co/wthEluNgEY

As @SamDavaham notes, existing air defenses may also be effective at quite low cost. As drone swarms become more sophisticated, their costs will go up to and the coming swarm may be "dead on arrival. https://t.co/uSgCpoJg80 8/

Anyway, this is just a sampling. There are numerous other great pieces, looking at swarming as a concept to specific applications from electronic warfare to CBRN warfare. Happy to provide suggestions to anyone who read this far. end/ https://t.co/wMWcLoSdep