FBI Chief Says Threats From Drones to U.S. ‘Steadily Escalating’

FBI Director Christopher Wray, testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on “Threats to the Homeland” at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Oct. 10, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski

 

WASHINGTON—FBI director Christopher Wray told a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday that the threat from drones “is steadily escalating” even as Congress gives agencies new tools to address threats.

Wray told the Senate Homeland Security committee that the FBI assesses that “given their retail availability, lack of verified identification requirement to procure, general ease of use, and prior use overseas, (drones) will be used to facilitate an attack in the United States against a vulnerable target, such as a mass gathering.”

US General Warns China Could Deploy Hypersonic Weapons On A “Large Scale”

As mentioned in a post from 2012, China has captured and monopolized over 90% of the planet’s rare earths. These will be stored and horded until the time is right to easily mass produce high-tech weapons as if they were cookies, such as drones and hypersonic missiles by the thousands, if not by the millions — while all at the same time putting a squeeze on much needed rare earths for the American military.

You’re looking at the possibility of war on a Biblical scale where the sky is blotted out by an enemy so numerous it’s like clouds covering the land.

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

– Ezekiel 38, 39

The average American cannot begin to fathom the repercussions.

You can read the story here: China’s Rare Earth Revenge

Also see: Rare Earth Market

 

 

The United States could lose its military technological superiority to China by late 2020s if it does not spend its $700 billion defense budget wisely, like more investments in artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, and hypersonic missiles, former deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work and Gen. Paul Selva, vice-chairman of the Joint Chief warned Thursday at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) conference on “Strategic Competition: Maintaining The Edge.”

“We should be prepared to be surprised in any conflict with China, not only because it has invested heavily in modernizing its armed forces but also how it has invested in next-generation military technology,” said former Deputy Secretary Work.

China “wants to be a first mover” in artificial intelligence, by incorporating machine learning algorithms into submarines, drones, hypersonics, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). “That will be how they will get ahead of the United States,” Work warned.

Russian Army Gets the Weapons of the Future Today

 

The combat experience that Russia’s Terminator-2 tank support combat vehicle (BMPT-72) has gained in Syria has proven to be invaluable. It is being used to develop a new Terminator-3 version that will soon equip the tank support system to do things like attacking unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Other armored vehicles and dismounted infantry in difficult terrain remain high-priority targets.

Few details are available so far. Like its predecessors, the new vehicle’s armor protection will be equivalent to that of a main battle tank, with armaments allowing it to engage virtually any enemy weapon system or unit and to fire at multiple targets at the same time. Automation makes it possible to reduce the number of crew members from 5 to 3.

The new weapon system is likely to share its chassis, sensors, armor, and active protection system with the new Armata T-14 main battle tank. According to Russian media reports, the main armament will be a 57-mm. gun already used by the Russian Navy. Its rate of fire is 300 rounds per minute, its range — 16 km., and its altitude — over 4 km. The projectile can penetrate armor over 100 mm. thick. Because the firing range of its machine gun and automatic grenade launcher are 60-140% greater than that of the American Bradley IFVs and Stryker wheeled armored vehicles and anti-tank systems, this system can reliably protect tanks and infantry while remaining safely out of reach.

Russia Plans to Replace Aircraft Autopilots With AI

 

Chairman of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee Viktor Bondarev, the former commander of Russia’s Aerospace Force, said Wednesday:

“[F]lying robots will be able to act in a formation rather than separately. Perhaps, an operator will be sitting on the ground and controlling a whole unmanned squadron with the help of a computer … [T]he day is nearing when vehicles will get artificial intelligence. So, why not entrust aviation or air defense to them?”

Report: Drones ‘Buzzing’ U.S. Military Installations

 

According to a new Defense Department study conducted by the drone surveillance startup Dedrone, drones are increasingly flying over military installations in the U.S. without authorization.

The contractor conducted a 56-day drone-detection pilot test demonstration at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, located just four miles away from the White House in Washington, D.C, as part of an Army effort to develop counter-drone security measures. The test revealed 95 instances of “previously undetectable” drone activity above the installation.

The Home Game Has Arrived: Lessons from the 10th Asymmetric Threat Symposium

 

Last week I was privileged to attend the 10th Asymmetric Threat Symposium. It’s not the first of these I’ve attended but was clearly the best. Maybe the participants felt less restrained by politics and thus spoke more directly to the issues we truly face. Or maybe the quality of experts is rising. For whatever reason, the event was candid and sobering, even for me. The event was held near our nation’s capitol and was sponsored by CACI International, the Center for Security Policy, and ISW (Institute for the Study of War). The title:  What Does It Take to Protect America? Combatting Global Asymmetric Threats.

While the rules of the event require that comments be shared without attribution, I’m pleased to offer a recap for our readers. You can read the agenda and see information about prior versions at www.asymmetricthreat.net. The speakers and panelists were impressive. In fact, I counted 36 stars on the shoulders (Admirals and Generals) of about a dozen participants, both active and retired, not to mention academic and civilian experts.

There were many important points covered and I’ll recap just a few:

First, the question was asked and answered. Are we already at war?

America’s Weapons: “The Dollar and the Drone”

 

It was said that “the guinea and the gallows” were the true instruments of British imperial power.

The guinea represented the coined wealth of Great Britain.

The gallows represented its… constabulary zeal in policing restless natives.

This is the 21st century of course… a time of enlightenment.

Today’s instruments of imperial power are no longer the guinea and the gallows.

No. Today’s instruments of imperial power are “the dollar and the drone.”

Unmanned tanks and mini-submarines among Israel’s weapons of the future

“The tank will no longer be the tank we once knew,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Danny Gold, head of the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT) at the Defense Ministry Tuesday, when he presented a dizzying array of work in progress, altogether 1,500 projects, many in partnership with other friendly countries.

The future of the Air Force is fighter pilots leading drone swarms into battle

CONCEPT ART OF MULTIPLE VALKYRIE DRONES IN COMBAT The Valkyrie is designed for an Air Force “Low Cost Attritable Strike UAS Demonstration.” In other words, it’s a drone that’s inexpensive enough to lose sometimes. Image courtesy of Kratos

 

Cheap, unmanned wingmen could add punch and protection to fighter formations.

The future of the United States Air Force is a human-piloted, $100 million stealth jet guiding flocks of $3 million drones that glide effortlessly into position powered by turbo fans. Thanks to the Air Force Research Lab and drone-maker Kratos, that future of combined human/robot formation is already being tested.

There are many good reasons to want a human in the cockpit of a plane, including their judgement, fast-thinking skills, and the capability to respond to unexpected threats.

Iran ready to give U.S. ‘slap in the face’: commander

Head of Iran’s Revolutionary guards ground forces Mohammad Pakpour (C) attends a funeral ceremony in Tehran October 20, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

 

Since taking office last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to get tough with Iran, warning the Islamic Republic after its ballistic missile test on Jan. 29 that it was playing with fire and all U.S. options were on the table.

“The enemy should not be mistaken in its assessments, and it will receive a strong slap in the face if it does make such a mistake,” said General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Guards’ ground forces, quoted by the Guards’ website Sepahnews.

Russia Touts Drone Swarms and Electromagnetic Cannon for Sixth-Gen Fighter

Meanwhile, America is has 419 deficiencies with it’s 5th generation fighter jets.

 

The Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype for Sukhoi PAK FA fifth-generation stealth fighter jet slated to enter service in the Russian Air Force in late 2016 or early 2017. (Getty Images)

 

Vladimir Mikheev, an adviser to the deputy head of Radioelectronic Technologies Concern — part of the Moscow-based state corporation Rostec — this week said the aircraft will be unveiled in 2025, fly a speeds of up to March 4 or 5 and reach near space, according to an article on RT, citing another Russian news agency TASS.

It will also allow a pilot to command between five and 10 nearby drone aircraft — interestingly, with their number and task dependent on the operator’s rank, the article states.

The Militarization of the US Goes Beyond Police Departments: Report

The report “The Militarization of America” examines government expenditures by 67 federal agencies between 2006 and 2014 and found that they spent US$1.48 billion stockpiling guns, ammunition and other military-style equipment.

“The recent growth of the federal arsenal begs the questions: Just who are the feds planning to battle?” American Tranparency’s Adam Andrzejewski, the author of the report, recently wrote in Forbes.

Military EVACUATING Women & Children from Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany

Officially, there are “security concerns” about a planned Protest around the base. The protest, dubbed “Initiative Stop Ramstein” is planning to protest this Saturday, June 11th, outside of Ramstein Air Base’s west gate between 13:00 and 17:00. The coordinator is estimating 5,000 demonstrators with a rally that kicks off at the main train station in Kaiserslautern. Both Polizei and 569 USFPS will conduct vehicle and crowd control measures outside the west gate as well as along the human chain between the west gate traffic circle through Ramstein Village, between the main road from Kindsbach through Landstuhl, and between Lanstuhl’s city center to the west gate access road toward the west gate traffic circle. Please avoid these areas and the west gate as much as possible. East and LVIS gates will be open for use from 10:00 to 19:00.

New details of Chinese space weapons revealed

A forthcoming report by the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission provides new details of China’s space-weapons programs, dubbed counterspace arms, that are aimed at destroying or jamming U.S. satellites and limiting American combat operations around the world.

“China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers and directed energy weapons,” a late draft of the commission’s annual report states. “China’s nuclear arsenal also provides an inherent anti-satellite capability.”

China military planners expect to use a combination of kinetic, electronic and cyber attacks against satellites or ground support structures in a conflict.

Silent Killer: Germany Showcases 4-Barrel Laser Gatling Gun

 

The system, unveiled at the Defense and Security Equipment Industry Expo in London, features four high energy lasers mounted on turret, making it look like some kind of laser Gatling gun, Popular Mechanics reported.

The four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously, in a technique known as superimposition which combines them into a single powerful 80 kilowatt beam.