Drone Swarms Push AI Deeper Into Modern Warfare

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.