The US military will create huge groups of autonomous drones to counter China

Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense of the United States, made this statement in her speech at a military conference in Washington, DC. Photo: ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

The United States will deploy thousands of drones within two years to counter China's military might, Department of Defense said.

Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense, said the new American the Replicator program will produce “many thousands of drones in various fields” in an attempt to “overcome [China's] biggest advantage, mass.”

In her speech at a military conference in Washington, Ms. Hicks outlined the threats the US faces from China, which she said now has the ability to “imagine, create and master the future nature of war.”

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While China acted “relatively slowly and clumsily” during the Cold War, it has since developed a military to “blunt the operational advantages we have enjoyed for decades,” she argued.

The Replicator program will have the ability to deploy thousands of drones simultaneously across land, sea and air, which Ms Hicks says will “enhance our fighters, not outdo or undermine them.”

Drones: The Future

The announcement comes in response to the use of custom-made and homemade military drones on the battlefield in Ukraine, where they have been used by both Vladimir Putin’s and Zelensky’s forces to conduct reconnaissance and drop explosives on enemy fighters.

Drones vary widely in cost and capability, and were first used by Israel during the Yom Kippur War against an Arab alliance.

Their adoption by the United States, especially in the Middle East, after the September 11 attacks have raised ethical questions about US troops firing at enemy targets thousands of miles away.

Ms Hicks said on Monday, that new drone groups will be deployed “in accordance with our responsible and ethical approach to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.”

“We must ensure that the PRC [Chinese] leadership wakes up every day, takes into account the risks of aggression, and makes conclusion: “today is not the day,” she said. said.

“Not just today, but every day, between now and 2027, now and 2035, now and 2049 and beyond.”

< p> Successful tests of “swarms of drones” were successful. were also carried out by the British Army, and military chiefs say they will now be designed to deliver a “precise strike” where a large number of drones act together to destroy a target.