10 November/December 2021

GETTY IMAGES

Military Tech

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// B Y K Y L E M I Z O K A M I //

I

MAGINE A FEW YEARS FROM NOW, U.S.

supply troops have just wrapped up a field

exercise in Poland, showing solidarity with

the country in the face of saber-rattling from

nearby Russia. As the sun sets, GIs rest next to

their trucks, knowing the Russian 18th Guards

Motor Rifle Division is encamped just a few

miles away.

The soldiers hear a faint buzzing in the distance

and see a dark cloud crossing the horizon. Sud-

denly, a solitary scout drone swoops low over the

Americans—it’s seen them. Like a predator catch-

ing the scent of prey, the cloud stops dead in its

tracks, then rushes toward the soldiers with aston-

ishing speed. Following programming orders, each

of the 60 drones scans the ground below and picks

its target, while AI ensures no two drones aim for

the same vehicle. The drones arm their explosive

payloads just as the first bursts of gunfire begin

lancing out from the American position.

Sometime around March 2020, this longstand-

ing trope of science fiction—autonomous attack

drones eliminating human beings on the futur-

istic battlefield—crossed over into science fact.

That’s when, during the Second Libyan Civil War,

the interim Libyan government attacked forces

STM’s Kargu

rotary wing attack

drones use their

electronic brains

to detect and

strike targets.

Autonomous Drones

Have Attacked Humans.

This Is a Turning Point