DRONE WARFARE BASICS
Mike Walker, Col USMC (ret)
OVERVIEW:
Drone Warfare in the Russo-Ukraine War has jumpstarted a new Revolution in Military Affairs.
I write with confidence that one thousand US Marines with ten thousand drones and appropriate logistical support can single-handedly defeat one-on-one the large majority of the world’s militaries.
It is a stunning turn of events as we stare deeply at new battlefields which are changing faster than onlookers can keep up. It truly is dizzying in it advances.
The changes also are incredibly dynamic. It is not simply a matter of fielding new and better drones – which is indeed happening. But simply upgrading software or electronics or avionics or batteries or sensors or payload or any combination on existing tactical drones, allows the old weapons to be reinvented – to make an immediate quantum leap in battlefield lethality.
And just to pile on, the emerging power of AI in drone warfare is just beginning to be felt and it too looks to be game-changing.
What to do? To lay a foundation we will take a snapshot mostly centered on United States drone capabilities. Hopefully that will get you into the game but remember, at best this discussion will only enable you to ask better questions.
MISSIONS:
Combat
Surveillance- Reconnaissance
Logistical
Covert/Clandestine Intelligence
Subsurface
Anti-Drone Defenses
Combat
Strategic-Operational Level
MQ-20 Avenger (Predator C) – King of the Combat Drones
Speed: 400/460mph (cruise/max speed) Endurance: 18 hours
Range: +15,000 miles (aerial refueling)
Payload: 3,500lbs with internal weapons bay and up to six (6) external hardpoints carrying precision guided munitions (from 250 to 2,000 lbs)
Extra: Uses stealth and reduced signature technology
MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) – Hunter-Killer UAV
Tactical Level
Switchblade Loitering Attack [Kamikaze] Munition (AKA Low-altitude Stalking & Strike Ordnance/LASSO)
Model 300 antipersonnel
Speed: 100mph Endurance: 10-20 minutes
Range: 15 miles
Payload: 40mm grenade 5m casualty radius
Extra: Uses stealth and reduced signature technology
Model 600 antitank
Speed: 400/460mph Endurance: 18 hours
Range: +15,000 miles
Payload: 3,500lbs with internal weapons bay and up to six (6) external hardpoints carrying precision guided munitions (from 250 to 2,000 lbs)
Extra: Uses stealth and reduced signature technology
Endnote
The major on-going evolution in tactical combat drones is the transition from human-guided kamikaze drones to fully robotic killer drones that reduces and ideally will eliminate the need for trained and skilled drone operators.
But drones are not perfect. They can malfunction and – like any airborne platform – suffer from the vagaries of the environment. Wind, rain, snow, mist and fog effect drones. Operation at night is challenging and terrain can matter. Urban areas present obstacles to drone flight, triple-canopy jungle can be impenetrable, and flying inside wooded areas a nightmare.
Surveillance-Reconnaissance
Tactical Level
RQ-7 Shadow
Speed: 81/130mph
Endurance: 7.5 hours
Range: 70 miles
Payload: Stabilized electro-optical/infrared tracking cameras
Logistical
When it comes to logistical drones, payload is everything. And by everything we mean small. Logistical resupply by drone at this time is limited by payload to urgently needed supplies in small amounts. That means either some uniquely critical item(s) or more generally, support for small teams in the reconnaissance-intelligence gathering/ unconventional warfare/special operations realm.
Covert/Clandestine Intelligence
In addition to military surveillance and reconnaissance missions, a whole host of drones are specifically designed for intelligence gathering and to achieve their mission, many of these are extremely small. So small that the next generation of clandestine operators might will be AI-driven drones that pass as horse flies.
Subsurface (Unmanned Undersea Vehicles or UUVs)
Subsurface drones have been around a long time but many were limited by cable connections. That is no longer an issue as you will note below.
Ghost Shark (Australia)
Herne (UK) Payload: surveillance/reconnaissance sensors
Endurance: 3 days
(working on a next-generation 45-day endurance/3,000-mile cruising range version)
Manta Ray (US)
Long endurance and range as it can both swim and hibernate for extended periods on the sea floor.
Wide range of missions with classified hunter-killer capabilities
Marichka (Ukraine) Payload: “kamikaze” combat/attack munition
Orca (US Extra Large UUV (XLUUV))
In essence, an unmanned conventional submarine with hunter-killer, minelaying, and reconnaissance-surveillance-intelligence gathering missions
Endurance: Months
Cruising Range: 7,500 miles (nearing the capability of World War II U-boats)
Anti-Drone Defense
For now, detection and RF jamming remain the primary components of anti-drone defenses. Tactically, the Marine Corps is fielding a portable Anti-Drone System that uses RF detection and audio sensors that cross reference a changeable library. Ideally future libraries can be updated/improved using AI to work with limited data and Id the target. The Marine operator wears a “touch” haptic device on his body (akin to a smart phone vibrator) to discretely alert the Marine. That at provides critical warning time to take cover and disperse.
At that point, integrated Radio Frequency (RF) jamming (broadband, spot, and barrage) takes over. Unsurprisingly, there is a full range of pretty effective off-the-shelf drone jammers ranging in price from $2,000 to $18,000 (and some really impressive stuff if you have deep pockets).
Therein lies the rub. To counter the detection-jamming defenses, the drone radio networks are employing smart frequency hopping technology to avoid jammers. That makes them even harder to find and attack and another counter-drone hurdle is IFF. Identify-Friend-or-Foe systems prevent friendly fire but there is nothing out there even remotely similar to the highly effective IFF systems used in conventional air war operations. Finally, under current conditions with its overcrowded frequency bands, autonomous jammers are as likely to jam friend as foe. Finally, drones are employing vastly more capable microprocessors and expanded data storage. As a result, drone flight control is getting away from jammable GPS (an advanced throwback to terrain navigating systems developed in the 1980s).
Then there is the future. A tactical counter-drone idea being explored is to deploy swarms of loitering “hornets” that will seek out and kill hapless drones before they become a threat.
CONCLUSIONS
It is hoped this short treatise has given both a useful overview of drone warfare and blunt insight into its complexities. Most of all, it should shock you into understanding that 21st century warfare is changing dramatically and if you think you have mastered it then you don’t understand it at all. But if you think this is something you MUST get smarter about then you are on the right course.
