Tag: drones

Why’d Ghana Of All Countries Agree To Partially Finance Ukraine’s Drone Program?

Footing part of this bill in exchange for Ukrainian support for securing its borders is one of the costs that Ghana must pay as part of its involvement in the emerging anti-Russian regional coalition that plans to wage a protracted hybrid war against Moscow’s Sahelian Alliance/Confederation allies.

Zelensky announced after a call with his Ghanaian counterpart in early July that “Ghana is ready to finance our (drone) production, and we are ready to help our partners secure their borders.” This caught many observers by surprise since Ghana has a GDP per capita that’s a little less than half of Ukraine’s. It makes more sense though when one recalls that West Africa is one of the New Cold War’s fronts. Russia supports the Sahelian Alliance/Confederation while France, the US, and Ukraine support its opponents.

The last-mentioned trilateral’s backing of terrorist-designated Tuareg separatists in Mali and similarly designated Islamic radicals there, in Burkina Faso, and Niger has thus far failed to break up this bloc. That’s not to say that this subversion doesn’t stand a chance of succeeding, just that continued Russian security assistance makes it much more difficult than they expected. As a back-up plan, they’ve therefore preemptively sought out regional bases to facilitate a protracted hybrid war, ergo Ghana’s importance.

The Wall Street Journal reported as far back as January 2024 that “The U.S. is holding preliminary talks to allow American unarmed reconnaissance drones to use airfields in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Benin”. Nothing has yet to tangibly come from those talks, but the latest update from two months ago in May shows that the US decided to focus its efforts on Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Ghana is right next door, and both border the Sahelian Alliance/Confederation, so there’s a logic to Ukraine cultivating ties with it.

Seeing as how “Ukraine Has Been Presenting Itself As A Reliable Mercenary Force Against Russia In Africa” via its involvement in Sudan and Mali, the precedent is established for it doing the same in Burkina Faso, which is the Sahelian Alliance/Confederation member that borders Ghana. An estimated 40% of Burkina Faso is already under the control of terrorist groups, some of whom are reportedly infiltrating into Ghana and the Ivory Coast, so Kiev’s quid pro quo with Accra is semi-legitimate.

Nevertheless, given the abovementioned role that Ukraine has played vis-à-vis Russia in Africa at the US’ behest, it should also be taken for granted that this semi-legitimate deal will be exploited as the cover for the West to ramp up its hybrid war against the Sahelian Alliance/Confederation. Ukraine’s speculatively forthcoming clandestine base of operations in Ghana will focus on Burkina Faso while the US’ openly planned drone base in neighboring Ivory Coast will divide its focus between there and Mali.

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Drones, cameras, AI: University of Illinois real time crime center raises privacy concerns

Thousands of cameras. A fleet of drones. Gun shot detection devices. Stationary and vehicle-mounted automatic license plate readers.

A major metropolitan city? No, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Real-Time Information Center furnishes the institution’s Division of Public Safety with a number of technologically sophisticated tools that have some privacy experts alarmed.

The drones, gunshot detection devices, automatic license plate readers, and campus-wide system of roughly 3,000 security cameras are among the tools currently utilized at the campus, which enrolls about 59,000 students.

Social media monitoring programs and “AI-driven video analytics software” are also among the technologies being evaluated for possible future implementation, according to a document sent by Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone.

He sent it to city officials as they deliberate a proposed city ordinance to establish stricter approval, oversight, and transparency requirements for Urbana’s own acquisition and use of the kinds of surveillance tools being used by the university’s Real-Time Information Center.

According to the document, the Real-Time Information Center provides a wide array of services designed to enhance public safety, streamline operations, and support law enforcement agencies.

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Russian Drones Overwhelm Ukrainian Defenses

Russian drone attacks appear to be overwhelming Ukraine’s besieged air defenses with their highest hit rates since the war began, it was reported Monday.

Moscow’s military has used “swarm” tactics, with drones striking targets at three times the typical rate in recent months, Financial Times reported, citing official data.

Roughly 15% of Iranian-designed drones, manufactured in Russia, penetrated defenses on average between April and June. That was up from only 5% during the previous three months.

The war began in February 2022 when, in an unprovoked attack, Russia invaded Ukraine.

The increased effectiveness of the slow-moving Shaheds — drones that Russians have renamed Gerans — is due to modifications that have allowed them to fly faster and beyond the range of Ukrainian truck-mounted machine guns, Financial Times reported.

“The problem is not [that] the Ukraine air defense is getting worse. Instead, what we see is that new swarming tactics and drones are now flying in higher altitude, [which] makes them more effective,” according to Yasir Atalan, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The increase in sheer size in launches saturates the defense systems which increases the hit rate.”

The Ukrainian air force has used electronic warfare to jam the drones’ GPS guidance systems, and anti-aircraft guns including the advanced German Oerlikon Skynex, an advanced air defense cannon.

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Pentagon shifts focus to drone warfare to bolster American military power

Drone warfare is emerging as a central strategic tool in the Trump administration’s plan to expand American military power.

The U.S. pioneered remotely piloted weapons during the war on terrorism in the post-9/11 era, when the term “drone” became a verb for effective strikes against al Qaeda figures in several corners of the world. The military term for missile attacks by large Predator and later Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles was simply “death from above.”

Since the early 2020s, drone weaponry has advanced dramatically from those initial, long-range missile carriers to an entirely new generation of warfare that has come into sharper focus during the Russia-Ukraine war.

In one recent two-day period, Russia fired 355 Iranian-made Shahed-type drones, including decoys, at Ukrainian targets. The wide-scale use of such one-way attack quadcopters and other pilotless aircraft underscores how drone warfare is rapidly becoming the face of modern warfare.

It’s not just Russia and Iran. Other U.S. adversaries are now in the drone manufacturing game, often pioneering inexpensive ways to mass-produce basic but deadly small drones.

China has notably developed a vast slate of drones for attack and support operations and is said to be producing as many as 100,000 small drones monthly. By contrast, the U.S. defense industrial base produces about 5,000 to 6,000 small drones monthly.

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Ukraine Drone ‘Mega Deal’ Possible With US, Zelensky Says

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are negotiating what’s being widely dubbed a potential “mega deal” which allows for Ukraine to exchange its growing small drone arsenal and technology for more advanced American weapons.

Reports say that under the scheme the United States would purchase Ukrainian-made drones, while Ukraine would in turn buy American weapons, according to a Zelensky interview with the New York Post. “The American people need this technology—it should be part of your defense arsenal,” Zelensky told the Post.

Ukraine was never much of a drone-producer, but the war with Russia has resulted in the country’s transformation into a small-drone manufacturing powerhouse, now producing millions of small, cheap drones – amid a growing UAV and aerial war which over the past months has seen hundreds exchanged between Russia and Ukraine on a nightly basis.

Apparently US defense planners were impressed by Ukrainian UAVs’ reach and effectiveness particularly during ‘Operation Spiderweb’ – which involved nearly 120 Ukrainian drones disabling or destroying multiple Russian bombers across four different airbases.

The Pentagon recently emphasized the urgent need to scale up drone production, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also calling for more drone training across all branches of the US military. The defense budget for next year will also seek to ramp up America’s small drone warfare readiness.

As for the ‘mega deal’ being teased by Zelensky, it’s anything but certain the degree to which the White House will actually sign on to this. Trump’s emphasis of late has been for NATO’s European members to give up their US-made weapons and transfer them to Ukraine first.

It’s also clear that Ukraine doesn’t have much in the way of weapons or technology to offer Washington, and there are currently many military tech companies and defense contractors which are ramping up small drone production. The tech offered by American firms like Anduril Industries is also without parallel – given AI integration.

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Chinese Military Unveils Robot Murder Wolves, Drones That Definitely Violate Asimov’s Laws

The Chinese military conducted tactical exercises integrating robotic wolves and infantry-operated drones, underscoring Beijing’s push to deploy unmanned systems in modern combat operations, according to state-run media.

The 76th Group Army’s drills focused on battlefield coordination between personnel and autonomous technologies for reconnaissance, strategic point clearing, fire support and breaching defensive positions, according to a military statement. The exercises represent China’s latest effort to advance unmanned warfare capabilities amid growing global competition in military robotics.

The robotic wolves, branded “steel warriors,” debuted at the 2024 Airshow China exhibition before being deployed in joint exercises with Cambodia. During the 2024 “Golden Dragon” exercise, China fielded a rifle-armed robotic wolf for assault operations. The follow-up “Golden Dragon 2025” exercise featured a UAV equipped with a QBZ-95 assault rifle providing fire cover for ground units.

The military demonstrations come as Chinese defense analysts raise concerns about the ethical implications of autonomous weapons systems. In a recent People’s Liberation Army Daily op-ed, analysts Yuan Yi, Ma Ye and Yue Shiguang called for “ethical and legal research” to address risks from militarized robots, warning that malfunctioning units could cause “indiscriminate killings and accidental deaths.”

The PLA Daily authors referenced Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, which prohibit robots from harming humans, arguing that militarized humanoid robots “clearly violate” these principles. They proposed overhauling Asimov’s framework for military applications, emphasizing that combat robots must adhere to laws of war by “obeying humans,” “respecting humans” and “protecting humans.”

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Drone Attack Shuts Down Oil Field Run by US Company in Iraqi Kurdistan

A drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday suspended operations at an oil field operated by a US company, marking the latest in a series of attacks in the region.

HKN Energy, the US firm operating the Sarsang oil field, reported an explosion at 7:00 am local time, followed by a fire. “Operations at the affected facility have been suspended until the site is secured,” the company said.

Workers at the oil field told Rudaw that it was targeted by a drone, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denounced the attack as “an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region’s vital economic infrastructure.” The US Embassy in Iraq also denounced the attack.

A day earlier, two drones targeted a different oil field in the area, and another was intercepted at the Erbil airport, which houses US troops. The airport has come under attack several times in recent weeks, and so far, there have been no casualties.

No group has taken responsibility for the spate of drone attacks. The KRG has blamed the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iraqi Shia militias that are part of the Iraqi government’s security forces, but Baghdad has denied the accusation.

PMF-affiliated militias have been responsible for previous drone and rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria, including the more than 100 attacks that occurred in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, as groups were targeting the US over its support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. The attacks were claimed by a PMF-affiliated group that calls itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Those attacks culminated in the January 2024 attack on Tower 22, a secretive US base in Jordan near the Syrian border, which killed three US Army Reserve soldiers and wounded dozens of National Guard members. The US launched major airstrikes against the PMF in response, killing 40 people, and assassinated a high-level commander in Kataib Hezbollah, one of the main Iran-aligned militias.

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IDF Soldiers Say Grenade-Drones Being Used On Civilians: ‘None Of Them Were Armed’

The Israel Defense Forces are routinely killing civilians in Gaza with commercial drones modified to drop grenades on them — often leaving the corpses to be eaten by dogs, according to interviews with seven soldiers and officers conducted by Israeli investigative journalists. The tactic is being used to deter civilians from venturing into areas declared off-limits by the IDF, with indifference to the fact that the individuals — some of them children — pose no threat. Compounding the amorality of the conduct, the soldiers say the off-limits areas aren’t marked on the ground.   

According to Israel’s +972 Magazine and Local Call, every Palestinian killed in this fashion was counted as a “terrorist” in the IDF’s official reporting. The soldiers say that’s utterly false. One soldier identified as “S” says that he coordinated dozens of drone attacks over the 100 days his unit was deployed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and that the vast majority of the dead were unarmed civilians. The only two exceptions were a single executed Palestinian who merely had a knife, along with only one legitimate encounter with armed militants. 

By his recollection, the battalion killed a civilian in this fashion on a daily basis, even though it was obvious to him that the Palestinians posed no threat. “It was clear that they were trying to return to their homes — there’s no question. None of them were armed, and nothing was ever found near their bodies. We never fired warning shots. Not at any point.”

Adding another layer of horror to the IDF-orchestrated hell that is Gaza, the corpses — which were upwards of a mile from their killers — were typically left to be eaten by dogs, says S.: 

“You could see it on the drone footage. I couldn’t bring myself to watch a dog eating a body, but others around me watched it. The dogs have learned to run toward areas where there’s shooting or explosions — they understand it probably means there’s a body there.”

Worse, S. said children have been deliberately targeted: 

“There was a boy who entered the [off-limits] zone. He didn’t do anything. [Other soldiers] claimed to have seen him standing and talking to people. That’s it — they dropped a grenade from a drone…In most cases, there was nothing you could tell yourself. There was no way to complete the sentence, ‘We killed them because ____.’”

“There were many incidents of dropping grenades from drones,” said H., a soldier who’d been deployed to central Gaza.  . “Were they aimed at armed militants? Definitely not. Once a commander defines an imaginary red line that no one is allowed to cross, anyone who does is marked for death,” even just for “walking in the street.” These new accounts are consistent with previous reporting that the IDF creates “kill zones” where soldiers shoot anyone moving inside the area, followed by the IDF boasting that another terrorist was killed. Where IDF soldiers’ ability to mow down civilians in kill zones was previously limited by the range of their rifles, drones now let them kill from several kilometers away.  

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Air Force Confirms Drone Swarms Over Wright-Patterson AFB Led to Airspace Shutdown; Videos and Reports Released

Newly released Air Force records confirm that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in Ohio experienced multiple drone incursions in mid-December 2024, prompting the temporary shutdown of military airspace and a large-scale security response. The disclosure, made through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to The Black Vault, includes incident reports, sworn witness statements, law enforcement documentation, and supporting video footage—all now public for the first time.

The base, one of the most prominent and historically significant in the U.S. Air Force system, initiated emergency procedures on December 13, 2024, after security forces reported observing several unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating in restricted airspace.

Initial sightings occurred at 10:08 p.m., when patrols near the Hot Cargo Pads spotted a drone hovering in the area and heading toward the West Ramp of the installation. The object was described as “black, with four (4) propellers, was roughly 6 inches in size, and had alternating red and green lights.” It was later seen flying over Fire Station #2 at about 20 feet off the ground.

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‘Like a video game’: Israel enforcing Gaza evacuations with grenade-firing drones

The Israeli military has weaponized a fleet of Chinese-manufactured commercial drones to attack Palestinians in parts of Gaza that it seeks to depopulate, an investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call can reveal. According to interviews with seven soldiers and officers who served in the Strip, these drones are operated manually by troops on the ground, and are frequently used to bomb Palestinian civilians — including children — in an effort to force them to leave their homes or prevent them from returning to evacuated areas.

Soldiers most commonly use EVO drones, produced by the Chinese company Autel, which are primarily intended for photography and cost around NIS 10,000 (approximately $3,000) on Amazon. However, with a military-issued attachment known internally as an “iron ball,” a hand grenade can be affixed to the drone and dropped with the push of a button to detonate on the ground. Today, the majority of Israeli military companies in Gaza use these drones.

S., an Israeli soldier who served in the Rafah area this year, coordinated drone attacks in a neighborhood of the city that the army had ordered to be evacuated. During the nearly 100 days that his battalion operated there, soldiers conducted dozens of drone strikes, according to daily reports from his battalion commander that +972 and Local Call reviewed.

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