Army will shut down a unit in Europe focused on learning drone warfare
An Army unit based in Europe that was specializing in drone warfare has been directed to end its efforts to learn and use the battlefield technology and return to being a traditional infantry battalion, officials said Thursday.
For more nearly a year, soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade have been experimenting and building their own drones, as well as participating in drills on waging unmanned warfare after Ukraine pioneered such tactics in its yearslong conflict with Russia. Last November, 600 soldiers formed a battalion that specialized in drone warfare and was set up to be used as a dedicated unit that could deploy anywhere drones were required.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff, has ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Army deliberations. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the change.
https://apnews.com/article/drones-army-ukraine-iran-war-hegseth-b4d70633a8832d779f3d4002b30298e3Open linkView original on lemmy.world
41 replies
If a foreign government were systematically dismantling the US's military, what would they be doing differently than what Trump is doing now?
Currently fighting a war against a nation supplying (and is master of) drones to a nation currently at war with another nation who is countering (and is master of) drones.
Best thing to do would be to learn from the nation countering said drones and work closely with other european nations in countering and using drones for the new landscape of war.
Nah, dont be silly.
Its almost like theyre ruining your nations military on purpose…
Maybe they want to privatize it. Like a private company building and controlling drones for them. Outsourcing drone warfare to corporations and AI, as well as vassal states.
NATO 3.0 also plans to privatize national defense industries in Europe and separate components by country. Complete insanity unless you think about it in terms of corporate hegemony. The technofascists around Thiel that got Trump into office a second time.
They don't really take war seriously. Neither the US nor EU. They think it's just a game and believe themselves to be invulnerable. War is what happens elsewhere. The reality is impossible to accept. Iran basically kicked the US out of their region and forced them to retreat precisely because of the overwhelming cheap drone warfare they were able to launch, because their defense industry is state owned.
Of course diplomacy and mutual respect for security needs would be far better to avoid war. Cdre. Steve Jermy (video) calls it diplomatic incompetency. They also talk about the new nature of air warfare and that we currently have no defense against it.
The Spirt of Westphalia: - by Steve Jermy
They're protecting incumbent rent seekers.
Rheinmetal did pretty much this. They made an overcomplicated shipping container truck launcher for $140k per pop drones. A gigantic multi million dollar target for a $300 DJI with a mortar charge zip tied to it... the entire western arms industry is a gigantic rent seeking grift to get costs as high as possible since that's the only way of raise profits... Ukraine is the only nation aligned with the west that is focuses on building cheap effective weapons at scale.
Nah, the answer is must simpler. Petey Hegsbreath thinks drone warfare is for nerds. Real soldiers bomb civilians in airplanes like God intended.
Looking forward to the us fielding the first knighted armored cavalry in a long time.
They’re gonna look so good!
Drones gonna be laughing when they killing dudes with super testosterone jumping out of planes like pigs in a barrel.
Next they're gonna order the pawns fo use black powder rifles and bayonets.
Or, maybe the mainland gonna be attacked soon.
False flagged.
Might not be false, if it gets to that.
they better get used to wasting several minutes filling thier rifle with the powder.
Drones are going to be completely useless. It’s the unfairness of advancements.
Well it is a department of war and not one of victory.
Nothing beats willful ignorance
By the end of Trump’s third term the army will be reduced to fighting with muskets and redigging Bunker Hill because that was good enough to beat the British. The Marines will look like the 90s recruiting ads, and the Airforce will be spending everything on the F-47 and bigger pointier missiles. The Navy will go over budget trying to redesign a coal power plant in the Trump class battleship and have nothing to show for it.
but not enough of them to actually fight an extended conflict
SO LIKE russia,
Doubtless they meant to write 'after Ukraine pioneered such tactics during the yearslong invasion by Russia'.
it wasnt that long ago that ukraine's relatively small drone division decimated eu armored division in a wargame. what changed?
Trump decided that WW2 boats look cooler, so we're down grading the military
Gabe Newell will be nominated next Navy secretary because Trump heard he made billions off of steam and he wants to change the jet catapults to steam
Gabe Newell would be a better administrator than Hegseth. This timeline is FUBAR. 😣
i was bit confused then realizes its the american army not the eu one . d'oh
Sounds like an order straight from Russia to US army
We are so lucky nobody's decided to test our conventional warfare capability (yet).
Trump is very obviously actively gutting it.
How’d this guy get Putin charge?
We've seen the face of warfare change with drones in Ukraine and Iran allowing an outnumbered force to hold off aggressors.
Trump shuts off civilian drones with lidar or infrared, now this military program. It's almost like he does not want anyone who may offer opposition to the have latest technology.
His good friends Vladimir and Jung-Un don’t want him to have drones. Neither does his best buddy Bibi, he wants to be able to sell his country’s expertise
Probably a lot of that as well. But does not have friends, everything is transactional.
Gonna be for the election.
What's next? Invade Russia in winter?
With this timeline:
"They said it couldn't be done but im going to do it. We got top ppl. Let me tell you about these beautiful high testosterone ppl im sending. All straight ill add." Etc etc
Follow by
"No body knew it was going to be this hard"
Is it odd that I am kinda pissed off they keep saying army but not whose army until the end?
I swear I think the orange fucker has orders to destroy this country to make it easier for Russia to take us over.
This administration really likes losing wars.
Learned literally nothing from their failures in iran...
Drones are too expensive and Amazon needs them for deliveries, use meat shields instead, it's cheaper.
No, there is an actual explanation.
Telescopes cause near-earth asteroids. Just like tax audits cause tax fraud or covid tests caused case numbers.
I haven't seen a really good list of "hey, it looks like we might want that later" with regards to planning at the US nationstate level. I do feel like I've seen a lot of steps taken in the last few years that are more about Right Now and less about future concerns.
cant have them hurting russia chances
*US army will shut down a unit in Europe focused on learning drone warfare.
Why do Americans assume everyone on the internet are American?
A US-based AP affiliate publishes an article for US readers, and they shouldn't assume their audience is from the US?