The Israeli army used a new artificial intelligence (AI) system to generate lists of tens of thousands of human targets for potential airstrikes in Gaza, according to a report published last week. The report comes from the nonprofit outlet +972 Magazine, which is run by Israeli and Palestinian journalists. The report cites interviews with six unnamed sources in Israeli intelligence. The sources claim the system, known as Lavender, was used with other AI systems to target and assassinate suspected militants – many in their own homes – causing large numbers of civilian casualties. According to a ..read more

When it comes to technology, the war in Ukraine is a war of juxtapositions. On the one hand, this is the first major war in which a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — or drones — have played such a prominent role. On the other hand, this new technology has played a major part in forcing infantry to dig lines of trenches reminiscent of the First and Second World Wars. Some of the technology in the war in Ukraine, such as the guided missiles being used by both sides, isn’t fundamentally all that new. Modern guided missiles trace their origin back to early developments during the latter ..read more

Last week, reports emerged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Habsora (Hebrew for “The Gospel”) to select targets in the war on Hamas in Gaza. The system has reportedly been used to find more targets for bombing, to link locations to Hamas operatives, and to estimate likely numbers of civilian deaths in advance. What does it mean for AI targeting systems like this to be used in conflict? My research into the social, political and ethical implications of military use of remote and autonomous systems shows AI is already altering the chara ..read more

USAF / Airman 1st Class Isaiah Pedrazzini Interest in the incorporation of robots into security, policing and military operations has been steadily increasing over the last few years. It’s an avenue already being explored in both North America and Europe. Robot integration into these areas could be seen as analogous to the inclusion of dogs in policing and military roles in the 20th century. Dogs have served as guards, sentries, message carriers and mine detectors, among other roles. Utility robots, designed to play a support role to humans, are mimicking our four-legged companions not only in ..read more

DARPA A 12-tonne fishing boat weighs anchor three kilometres off the port of Adelaide. A small crew huddles over a miniature submarine, activates the controls, primes the explosives, and releases it into the water. The underwater drone uses sensors and sonar to navigate towards its pre-programmed target: the single, narrow port channel responsible for the state’s core fuel supply … You can guess the rest. A blockage, an accident, an explosion – any could be catastrophic for Australia, a country that conducts 99% of trade by sea and imports more than 90% of its fuel. As drone submarines or “unc ..read more

New Zealanders have been put on notice that defence and security are among the bigger challenges the country faces this century. The assessment earlier this year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Navigating a Shifting World-Te whakatere i tētahi ao hurihuri, warned “the future looks grim” geopolitically. The release last week of a new national security strategy and defence policy strategy statement underscored the urgency of the required response. Announcing the strategies, Minister of Defence Andrew Little said New Zealand is “facing more geostrategic challenges than we have in decades”, wi ..read more

TRW INC / AP “God mode”, for those who aren’t gamers, is a mode of operation (or cheat) built into some types of games based around shooting things. In God mode you are invulnerable to damage and you never run out of ammunition. There’s no God mode in real life, of course, but the world’s military organisations are very interested in weapons that promise something like it: lasers and other “directed energy weapons”. The US government, for example, is spending nearly US$1 billion per year on directed energy projects. Australia is not immune to the appeal. The 2020 Force Structure Plan called f ..read more

A Ukrainian soldier uses a commercial drone to monitor the front line in eastern Ukraine. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Over the past year, images from Ukraine have often portrayed a war resembling other conflicts from the past half-century. Russian forces deploy tanks, fighter planes, warships, amphibious vehicles and attack helicopters. Ukrainians fight back with anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft missiles. This is how much of the war appears on the ground. But there’s another side to the conflict – a hypermodern battleground where drones play a cr ..read more

In war, it's not the size or sophistication of the technology, but how it's used – especially in combinations. Elena Tita/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images In less than a year, Ukraine’s military has emerged as a modern, effective fighting force in large part due to an abundance of technology provided by the United States and its NATO allies. On Feb. 24, 2022, the date of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military was still dependent on Russian-made military equipment, much of which was antiquated. Today it fields high-tech Western weapons systems like High Mobility Artillery ..read more

Every year, the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow showcases the latest in Russian weapons systems – and this year’s, of course, had special meaning. The weaponry looked good on the parade ground – but how well are Russia’s high-tech weapons performing on the battlefield? As always in Russia’s Victory day parade, tanks and armoured vehicles took centre stage. Most prominent among them was the T-14 Armata. Western analysts have been poring with some degree of trepidation over this system since 2015 when the tank first appeared. It is a significant advance over all previous Russian tanks, which ..read more