Today, before a tank explodes, before a trench is overrun, and before an artillery battery is silenced, someone is usually recording.
Autonomous weapons systems (AWS) are changing the nature of modern warfare through AI-enabled decision-making.
At Coyote Canyon, the challenge was not just whether a drone could be detected by radar or whether a sensor could spot movement across rough terrain. The bigger question was whether all that information could move through a portable security system fast enough to help people make decisions in the field.
This past March, the FBI warned state law enforcement that Iran might be planning to attack targets in California using drones launched from vessels floating offshore. As it turned out, the threat wasn’t real. The warning was based on “unverified” intelligence, and there was no evidence of an actual plot. Californians could breathe a sigh of relief.
Whatever one’s views on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s tenure, there is no denying that he has been unambiguous about some of his stated objectives. In a January 2025 Message to the Force, he committed the Department of Defense to rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence.
The expertise of the South Asian sub-region is robust, so the title of Worst Defense Acquisition System is in safe hands. But Britain’s allies in a post-American world should worry that Blighty is as far up the list as it is.
For decades, Chinese military planners have viewed logistics as the decisive factor in any campaign against Taiwan and across the broader Indo-Pacific. Sustaining large-scale operations across the strait would require moving and supplying forces under intense pressure, making logistics both a critical vulnerability and a priority for reform.
This is not science fiction. It’s not premature. If towns, cities, states, or the federal government want to act to reign in the emergence of armed police drones and robots, we have precious little time. In the absence of substantial regulation around when and how domestic law enforcement in the United States can deploy force using drones, the companies that markets technology to law enforcement have been moving. It’s past time concerned people take notice.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest sporting event in history. It’s also the most surveilled World Cup ever. If you’re visiting or traveling around host cities, then you and your face, behavior, movement and devices are being monitored by governments and private companies.
Login