At the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, drones showed a splendid show and fascinated many people. However, drones have another hidden side as “weapons”.
The civil war in Afghanistan has become an experiment and practice ground, and has shown its power as a weapon. The U.S. military, which supports the government, has been paying attention to and using drones from early on. However, the 20-year war ended in victory for the Taliban, an anti-U.S. rebel group.
It's like a video game
For a detailed report on drone warfare, see "Drone Information Warfare: U.S. Special Forces' Unmanned Strategy Frontline" (Hara Shobo, 2018). It's a memoir of a former U.S. soldier who actually took charge of the drone war. Since there are many confidential parts, it is said that it was carefully checked by the US government before publication.
The author, Brett Velikovic, is a military drone expert who has worked in counter-terrorism and intelligence operations for over a decade. As a drone engineer and intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army Special Forces DELTA, he has experienced the front lines of the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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I first touched drones in 2005, when I was assigned to my first post in Afghanistan. It is said that it was He eventually became a drone expert and was given the power to pick and kill targets.
In this book, the state of "actual battle" that the author has experienced is reproduced. It's like a video game. However, the author writes that he always hesitated in the final stages of deciding to kill. "What would you do if you were the wrong person?"
Main role in airstrikes
Afghanistan, with its many steep mountains, is unsuitable for ground warfare. That's where drones come in.
On April 22, 2016, Reuters published an article titled "Afghanistan's 'Drone War', drones take center stage in airstrikes."
Drones accounted for 56% of the weapons deployed by the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan in 2015, up from 5% in 2011, according to data obtained by Reuters. While its military presence has dwindled, it has relied more on drones, carrying out more airstrikes than fighters, with 61% of attacks in the first quarter of 2016 coming from drones. Drones weren't just doing reconnaissance flights.
"Misfires" are inevitable in remotely controlled drone operations. It has also been criticized by international human rights groups and others for needlessly killing civilians. About 20 civilians were killed in an April 2016 airstrike in Paktika province, which residents said was carried out by drones.
According to a Reuters article, most of the drone strikes targeted Al Qaeda, an international terrorist group based in Afghanistan. However, depending on the situation, it also targeted the Taliban, a rebel group that had expanded its control in the country. It was believed to have ties to Al-Qaeda.
Festival and war are two sides of the same coin
China is also known to be researching the use of drones as weapons. On December 28, 2018, the Asahi Shimbun featured China's drone weapons in a special article titled "U.S.-China Conquest". "AI weapon development, US-China rivalry, drones make attack decisions, 'automatic warfare' is realistic" is a big headline. In particular, the opening scene of the article text was intense.
It is said that it was a video when it was presented at the AI technology presentation held by China's state-owned company "China Electronic Technology Group". In another video, orders are sent via satellite, and a city of skyscrapers is set on fire by an attack by countless drones... Drones are extremely effective as new weapons in the IT age, and they have shown that they have "unlimited possibilities."
In terms of free movement, it is a scene that overlaps with the "drone show" that colors the night sky of Tokyo. In Tokyo, 1,824 drones painted emblems in the night sky with LED lights to great applause.
The drone used was made by Intel. It is not known whether the drones used in the airstrikes in Afghanistan belonged to the company, but there is no doubt that they were made by the United States or by an allied company.
The splendid night sky show of Tokyo and the realistic airstrikes of Afghanistan far away are connected by "drone". As the high-tech age advances, festivals and wars, civil demand and military demand are two sides of the same coin.
Warriors in the Digital Age
Newsweek on April 20, 2021 writes prophetically about Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. "After the US soldiers leave the battlefields of Afghanistan, there will remain a 'permanent war' of killing machines," he said.
According to the article, the United States has already built a "war machine." It is a network system that can find targets and launch attacks anywhere in the world by collecting, processing, and sharing a large amount of information. Field deployment of ground forces is rarely required. Attacks could be remotely controlled at any time, creating a "perpetual war". It operates in about 20 countries. Headquarters are located in countries assumed to be safe and free from combat.
As for warfare in the IT age, "Unlimited Warfare: 'New Warfare' in the 21st Century" is regarded as a pioneering work. It was co-authored by Chinese military personnel and military researchers. Shortly after its publication in 1999, the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, drawing the attention of both domestic and foreign experts. It will be Kadokawa Shinsho in 2020. It has 240 ratings on Amazon, most of which are "five stars."
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The authors say, "The age of 'a brave warrior guarding my castle' is already past." ” he says.
"Modern weapon systems provide them with a much farther battlefield, allowing them to strike enemies from out of sight." A shosei is more suitable for a modern soldier than a big man with a simple head and bulging muscles." We are about to replace it," he predicted a new era of warfare, weapons, and warriors.
Serving in Vietnam
President Biden spoke on August 16 about the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. "Toyo Keizai Online" has released the full translation of the speech.
"When I served in Vietnam when I was young, our leaders asked us to continue to risk our lives in Vietnam," the president said, referring to his Vietnam service. Based on his own absurd experience, he said, "I call on the U.S. military to fight endlessly in civil wars in other countries, inflicting casualties, inflicting life-altering injuries, and shattering families in grief and loss. I can't do it, and I won't ask for it," revealing his decision as president.
In 1975, after the US lost the Vietnam War, US Embassy staff fled Saigon by helicopter. It is said that the withdrawal from that time and this time are similar, but there is a decisive difference. At the end of his speech, President Hayden warned:
The Taliban have moved from their secret hideouts in the mountains to the presidential palace in Kabul. From the secret to the public world, the actions of the cadres are now exposed under the scrutiny of the US "war machine." Drones of unknown nationality may occasionally hover over Kabul. The Taliban must have been most nervous about the final part of the president's speech.
Half a century has passed since the Vietnam War, and the surveillance and attack capabilities of IT systems have evolved dramatically. Both the Taliban and the United States probably know that it is also a deterrent to new wars.