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The U.S. Army Looks Lost in the Drone Age
National Security Journal ^ | 7/31/2025 | David Hambling

Posted on 07/31/2025 6:56:14 AM PDT by whyilovetexas111

The U.S. Army recently sparked widespread mockery after a social media post breathlessly announced its “first live-grenade drop from an unmanned aircraft system”—a tactic that has been a staple in Ukraine for years and was used by ISIS in 2017. The incident highlighted what many experts see as a dangerous, “pre-drone age mindset” within the U.S. military.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalsecurityjournal.org ...


TOPICS: Government; History; Military/Veterans; Politics
KEYWORDS: army; blogkaren; blogpimp; blogwhiner; drones; military; multiplenicks; randpaulsucks; russiantrollfarm; ukraine; usarmy
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To: HombreSecreto

“”””Do things that make the castle uninhabitable (taking the nuclear option off the table). Destroy their dams, water treatment and storage facilities, power generation and distribution, roads, bridges, railways, etc. Move Ukraine back to 1825 and let the people inside the castle turn on each other in order to survive. Wait a year or so, then just walk in.””””

Russia was doing all that the first couple of years, even the dam, and they really went after the electricity.


41 posted on 07/31/2025 3:12:09 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: DesertRhino

“The drone attackers would get annihilated on a battlefield where the USAF had air supremacy/dominance.”

With our missile equipped drones.


42 posted on 07/31/2025 3:16:31 PM PDT by TexasGator (There is no Sharknado system)
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To: ansel12

Interesting they seem to have moved away from that.


43 posted on 07/31/2025 3:56:01 PM PDT by HombreSecreto (The life of a repo man is always intense)
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To: HombreSecreto

It appeared to be a combination of weapon shortages and Ukraine counter measures, normally world opinion would have played a role, but I don’t if it did with Putin.


44 posted on 07/31/2025 4:06:18 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: ansel12
"Can you think of one of the world’s militaries that agrees with that?"

I've been watching videos from the Ukraine/Russia conflict. Drones are effective and they will only deliver more powerful payloads. The future of drones and tanks is predictable.

How Ukrainian Drones Relentlessly Destroyed 50 Russian Tanks and Infantry Around Lviv Oblast

Russian Tanks Try to Break Through a Wall of Drones

45 posted on 07/31/2025 8:14:11 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

It isn’t predictable to the militaries of the world, including the battlefield armies of Russia and North Korea, who should know it best of all if it were true.

“Returning Tank Production to Soviet Era Levels: Russia Will Soon Be Building Over 3000 T-80s and T-90s Per Year”
Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff
July-2nd-2025
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/returning-tank-production-soviet-era-levels-russia-over-3000

“Kim Jong Un calls for mass-producing newest tanks in visit to upgraded factory”
https://www.nknews.org/2025/05/kim-jong-un-calls-for-mass-producing-newest-tanks-in-visit-to-upgraded-factory/


46 posted on 07/31/2025 8:23:29 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: ansel12

You’re right about the past. When I worked on military programs back in the 90s our designs then had to provide protection against EMPs. I wonder if the huge AI networks will survive. I believe one well placed EMP over the US could do much more damage than many nuke bombs destroying cities and even the perpetrator of that nuclear attack would suffer from that.


47 posted on 08/01/2025 6:32:22 AM PDT by antidemoncrat (In a way ge is right as)
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To: antidemoncrat

There has been so much high level discussion and investigations of emp in congress and during Trump’s first presidency, and it is such a normal concern of the military, that I assume the high tech guys take it into consideration when they are building new things from ground up, they also know that they are part of the main infrastructure that emp weapons are being built to target, even if the sun’s emps don’t convince them.

So let’s hope, I also hope that the utilities are incorporating emp protections in their upgrades of the recent years, the utilities may not be reworking their entire grids, but surely they incorporate them piece meal during upgrades, something is better than nothing, and the more the merrier, every reduction in damage and recovery helps.


48 posted on 08/01/2025 7:48:26 AM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: ansel12
Russia and North Korea?

The future is drones. Tanks are sitting ducks.

Any military that isn't prioritizing drones is vulnerable.

49 posted on 08/01/2025 2:46:27 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

Lol, is that what I posted to you? Didn’t you skip the big question?

“”Can you think of one of the world’s militaries that agrees with that?
Russia and North Korea are neck deep in this drone war, and they are accelerating their tank programs and future production.””


50 posted on 08/01/2025 2:49:38 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: antidemoncrat
I did a quick search about the US prioritizing drones and found these among many others.

Cheap. Effective. Deadly.

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4246987/pentagon-to-increase-low-cost-drone-production-in-us/

https://defensescoop.com/2025/07/10/hegseth-memo-unleashing-us-military-drone-dominance-deadlines/

51 posted on 08/01/2025 2:49:50 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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