The rise of the Suicide Drones

Some experts believe the spread of the semi-autonomous weapons will change ground warfare as profoundly as the machine gun did.

They can leapfrog traditional defenses to strike infantry troops anywhere on the battlefield, and they cost just $6,000 a piece, compared to $150,000 for the Hellfire missile typically fired by Predator or Reaper drones.

The Ukraine is using these with great success against Russia, and it demoralizes an army that wasn't ready for this, it is estimated that 20% of vehicles kills of all kinds is being caused by these drones.

The Switchblades 300 fits in a backpack and is for smaller targets, and the larger Switchblades 600 is for tanks and larger targets

Even police are using them these days. Remember Dallas 2016?

A guided missile is a "suicide drone".

The future is frightening. The movie Angel has fallen had a scene with a suicide drone swarm....

a reply to: Edumakated

I'm waiting for somebody to use a drone swarm as protection against other drones. Put up a cloud of drones so that the incoming drones fly right into them.

I am surprised they are not using more EMP drones on the battlefield nowadays against older equipment.

They are just small cruise missiles. But I guess "Suicide Drone" or "Kamikaze Drone" sounds cooler.

originally posted by: schuyler
They are just small cruise missiles. But I guess "Suicide Drone" or "Kamikaze Drone" sounds cooler.

Not really, but “suicide drone” is nothing more than a buzz phrase.

Loitering munition is a more accurate term.

They’re smaller, slower, and can hang out and search for a target.

I think the drones have cameras so the remote operators can operate and target.

many years ago militaries sought to combine cameras with remote weapons. I think WWII Germany had some using wires. never had the technology for practical ops.

I wonder if these drones are using depleted uranium. Fluoride is a hazardous, toxic byproduct of the aluminum industry, making its disposal extremely expensive- unless they can find a way to use it in a 'beneficial' fashion. Same with DU; they can spend millions sending it to Hanford for proper disposal, or find another, cheaper way to get rid of it.

originally posted by: captaintyinknots

originally posted by: schuyler
They are just small cruise missiles. But I guess "Suicide Drone" or "Kamikaze Drone" sounds cooler.

Not really, but “suicide drone” is nothing more than a buzz phrase.

In other words, it sounds cooler. The rest of it is just variations on a theme. It hits something and it blows up both itself and the something it hits.

originally posted by: schuyler
They are just small cruise missiles. But I guess "Suicide Drone" or "Kamikaze Drone" sounds cooler.

Same concept, but these can hang out in the sky and relay back video and/or audio communications.


A cellphone with wings- cameras and microphones... sending realtime data back to the person who launched it.
Payload could be anything from biological to chemical to radioactive... or maybe it's just a little bit of shrapnel around an explosive?

Maybe it's armed with darts, deploying covid vaccines to anyone it can target...

nothing to worry about here though!

a reply to: Blue_Jay33

MSNBC Reporter in Ukraine educating others on the weapons of war.

Quick Video: twitter.com...

What is the "fast mover" he's referencing? One of the new "suicide drones?"

Russia is now talking about a new kind of mini-drone:
sputniknews.com...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's state-owned defense corporation Rostec is planning to develop pocket-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) using the experience of the special military operation in Ukraine, the company said on Friday.

"The special operation has indicated the importance of not only large and medium-sized UAVs, but also light-sized drones ... Such UAVs are almost invisible, they are pocketable, providing for fire adjustment, monitoring and receiving intelligence data on a real time basis, significantly increasing the efficiency of military units. Rostec is carefully studying the existing experience and is ready to consider the possibility of creating mini-drones that meet the requirements of the armed forces", a Rostec spokesman told reporters.

They are saying pocket sized? I wonder how big of a pocket you need?

a reply to: Edumakated

ATS has been saying this for years, we might one day see homemade drones assassinate a politician or president.

The gov' is prepared for any kind of drone attack, but I doubt they will be successful against a swarm or mini drones.

a reply to: imitator
I know there are devices you can buy called drone shields and drone jammers but they are illegal to buy in the U.S. i know because i bought a domain name uavgun.com and i am looking for a way to dropship drone jammers.

a reply to: imitator
Ive always wanted one of those cell phone jammers as well that i could drive around town with. I hate when im at a stop light and the jerk in front of me is on the phone holding up traffic.