2 New Weapons for Drone Warfare – Part 1 of 2
Michael Gladius
As America’s Army prepares for a conventional war and develops multidomain doctrine, new technologies will be developed. However, there are several places where existing technology can be used to fill gaps that have appeared as the Army transitions. This is especially true for urban combat and drone warfare. Here, I propose 2 new platforms that can be adapted from existing technology to answer the changes brought about by the mass introduction of drones onto the modern battlefield. In Part 2, I will address urban combat separately.
Turretless IFV
The Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) was originally developed to replace the M113. The M113 did not have a turret, while the Bradley does. For future IFVs, however, drones might be a viable substitute for a turret. Turrets are complicated and expensive pieces of machinery and replacing them with drones would simplify and lighten the vehicle, decreasing its overall costs. Drones can fly higher and see farther than an optic inside a turret and are easier to replace. Each vehicle could carry two drones, so as to have a backup in case the first is destroyed and include a dedicated crewman to operate both them and the vehicle’s communications equipment. The vehicle would thus carry at a minimum: one driver, one gunner, one drone operator/radioman, and at least one full 9-man squad.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/2-new-weapons-drone-warfare-part-1-2
