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"Who’d have thought that [this] would have been the technology?”

Kirkhill

Puggled and Wabbit Scot.
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Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Eaton, Commander of the British Army Training Unit Suffield - the author of the headline quote.

Lt Col Eaton is not alone.
He has lots of company, present and past.
Nobody pays enough attention to Rumsfeld's "Unknown unknowns".
And we do have to plan for those and make allowances through greater contingency and research budgets.

....

"“The technology now, where drones are being controlled by fibre optics, 25 kilometers fiber optic cable, who’d have thought that [this] would have been the technology?”"

...

"Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Eaton, Commander of the British Army Training Unit Suffield, said militaries are being forced to adapt quickly."

"...the lessons from Ukraine have taught us that a $200 toy RR drone can defeat a multi-million dollar tank,” Eaton said.

"Eaton said that the shift is changing not just equipment priorities, but how soldiers are trained to understand threats in every direction.

"“With the technology that you’ve got now. Most soldiers [are] now on a three-dimensional threat,” Eaton said.

“They’re not just looking at what’s in front of them; they need to look at what’s above them now.”

"Drone technology is evolving at a faster rate than traditional procurement systems can keep up with, as Eaton said the technology changes “on a daily basis.”

"He said the solution is that testing and experimentation need to be more flexible and faster-moving than in the past, as drones are moving from surveillance tools to active weapons systems."

...

"Eaton says the pace of change is driving a new model of military development at Suffield, where equipment is tested, refined, and rapidly integrated into service, including a shift toward smaller, more mobile trial teams working in isolation before systems are scaled up"

....

 
“The technology now, where drones are being controlled by fibre optics, 25 kilometers fiber optic cable, who’d have thought that [this] would have been the technology?”
Thought of the day - range impact areas need to be swept and cleaned every once in a while for unexploded projectiles. What happens after thousands of fibre optic drones leave their gossamer threads crisscrossing the countryside?

:unsure:
 
I have not seen a $200 "toy" drone that could carry a warhead big enough to damage a tank.

I have seen $200 toy drones track tanks so that they are under constant observation until appropriate weapons can be directed to them.

(Edit: Breaking Contact seems to be difficult these days - popping smoke just makes you a more obvious target)

....

And that same $200 techmology is being applied to larger conventional weapons with heavier payloads.
 
Thought of the day - range impact areas need to be swept and cleaned every once in a while for unexploded projectiles. What happens after thousands of fibre optic drones leave their gossamer threads crisscrossing the countryside?

:unsure:

Two thoughts in response:

1) It is as good a time as any to start figuring out how to manage that in practiceby creating that environment at Suffield.

2) How were the TOW wires managed on existing ranges?
 
Continuous Improvement



Nightmare for accountants wanting to know if we are there yet.
You never get "there".
 
Thought of the day - range impact areas need to be swept and cleaned every once in a while for unexploded projectiles. What happens after thousands of fibre optic drones leave their gossamer threads crisscrossing the countryside?

:unsure:

The same thing they did in Hohne with the SS11 wires all over the place?
 
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