Drone Swarms Push AI Deeper Into Modern Warfare

Summary

Bloomberg News Cyber Security & Tech Reporter Katrina Manson gives Carol Massar a firsthand account of autonomous drone-swarm technology demonstrated at a Maryland farm. She explains how the drones coordinate strikes without GPS or communications and describes the Pentagon’s Swarm Forge program, including AI targeting failures involving civilian vehicles. The discussion highlights a global shift toward autonomous warfare involving the US, China, Russia and Israel, while current US policy still requires human target verification.

• A demonstration showed five small drones autonomously strike a tank using chalk to simulate explosives.
• Entertainment drones are centrally GPS-controlled, while military swarms aim to operate under GPS jamming or communication disruption.
• Ukraine has used fiber-optic cables to maintain drone control amid GPS jamming.
• The Pentagon’s Swarm Forge program includes 27 competing companies, with a third heat in September.
• AI in one experiment misidentified civilian white Chevy trucks as potential military targets.
• Multiple countries, including China, Russia and Israel, are advancing autonomous drone technology.
• US defense policy currently requires human target verification, though drone-on-drone scenarios may change that.
• The visited company, Orterian/Arterion, pivoted from Walmart delivery drones to defense contracts.