Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 5. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert.
First, I have a personal u...
Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 5. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert.
First, I have a personal update. Project Gecko, Book Two of the Lara Kingsley Series is now with my editor. I’m on pins and needles waiting for his initial feedback, which I will get in mid-May. While I have a bit of free time, I’m currently busy outlining Book 3 which is called Genomic Data. I’m also working with a graphic designer on the cover. You should have a sneak preview next week.
On May 4, I published my first-ever guest blog post on the Creative Penn. For any of you who are writers, this is Joanna Penn’s blog. She’s a widely acclaimed self-published author and industry guru. My post is titled “How To Build 1,000 Superfans When You’re Starting From Zero” and offers some lessons learned about building a reader audience from my experience as a new author. I learned almost everything I know about self-publishing and running an author business from Joanna’s blog and weekly podcast. Check it out if you’re interested.
Three related headlines caught my attention this week. It’s no accident that the story in Bionic Bug kicks off with a drone swarm. This is a topic that fascinates me, terrifies me, and one that I find incredibly concerning given the lack of attention it’s received from the U.S. government until now.
The first headline is from Patrick Tucker from Defense One on May 3: “A Criminal Gang Used a Drone Swarm To Obstruct an FBI Hostage Raid.” Bad guys are getting increasingly creative in their use of small drones.
In this case, they used a drone swarm to interfere with a FBI operation in a large city in the U.S. The head of the FBI’s operational technology law unit said that the FBI team lost situational awareness as a result of the drone swarm. Also, the criminals were able to gain video footage of the FBI agents, assisting them in their activities. Bad guys are using drones to smuggle drugs across borders, deliver contraband into prisons and assist in burglaries. There is no easy solution to this problem in domestic situations. Jammers interfere with cell phone signals. Shooting them out of the sky could lead to injuries.
The new FAA authorization bill contains two small improvements: 1) the legislation would make it illegal to weaponize drones; 2) the bill would require drone operators who fly their drones beyond line-of-sight to broadcast a signal allowing law enforcement to identify the drone and its operator.
The second headline is also from Defense One on May 3: “Terrorists Are Going to Use Artificial Intelligence.” Machine learning tools are going to bring drones to the next level of swarming capability. Terrorists have already adopted small off-the-shelf and home-made drones to enhance their operations. These consumer drones provide operational intelligence, but can also be outfitted with small grenades or explosives. The author of the article suggests that terrorists such as ISIS in Syria and Iraq may start leveraging social networks to take towns by force.
Two recent incidents highly the potential power of drones for both state and non-state actors. In March 2017, the Russian military allegedly used a drone to deliver a one-pound thermite grenade on an ammo demo in the Ukraine, detonating more than a billion dollars worth of munitions.
In January 2018, a swarm of armed-drones attacked two military bases in the Russian military headquarters in Syria. About 12 makeshift drones carried small rockets. The Russian military shot down seven drones, and captured six of them.
The third headline is a Tweet from AI and China expert Elsa Kania: “The China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) has established a new record for a swarm of 200 drones, breaking their previous record of 119.” The article is in Chinese, but suffice it to say, it offers further evidence for the rise of drone swarms.
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