Swarm Troopers: How small drones will conquer the world

To paraphrase a prophet, “Beat your iPhones into swords, and turn your Christmas toys into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.”This self-published work draws upon David Hambling’s extensive writings about modern drone technology for various magazines. It may be four years old, but it’s still worth reading. The kindle versions has extensive links to various online resources, and Hambling’s blog swarm-troopers.com has kept current with news on the types of drones central to this story. Hambling’s presentation seems to almost be intended as a concisely written academic precis on the subject with an abstract given for each chapter.I haven’t kept that current with developments in drone technology, so this book was valuable.Valuable and frightening.The first thing one learns is that militaries have been messing about with unmanned aerial vehicles since 1849 when an attempt was made to bomb Venice with unmanned balloons. The British military developed a remote-controlled airplane in 1916. Drones piloted remotely via onboard tv cameras were successfully deployed by the U.S. Navy in 1943. A Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (that would be DASH -- this book is full of often strained military acronyms) was developed in the early 1960s.So why did it take until 1993 for the U.S. military (actually the CIA) to finally deploy, in a reconnaissance mission, the GNAT-750, predecessor to the famous Predator drone?Here we see a common theme in the story, particularly in the world driver of weapons development, the U.S. military: “white-scarf syndrome”. That, in the aviation wings of the U.S. military, especially the United Stated Air Force, is the manifestation of an old theme: the highly-skilled, elite, single warrior losing his status and his role in combat and trying to prolong the inevitable. Pikemen rendered the mounted knight obsolete. Musket-wielding peasants did the same with the samurai (though, of course, Japan’s peculiar history let them hold on for centuries before the final reckoning).In America, the cult of the fighter pilot has reached its apotheosis with that ultimate projection of America’s non-nuclear capabilities: the aircraft carrier. It’s also led to its ultimate absurdity: the F-35 fighter. Its unit costs, depending on whom you believe and what model you talk about, are between $85 and $185 million.There’s another downfall to manned fighter aircraft: the extraordinary costs and lengths modern Western nations will devote to preventing one of those expensive fighter pilots from being killed or captured.The unit costs of drones are much less in terms of cost and the vulnerability of their directors.Drone development also reverses the direction of technology’s flow as documented in Hambling’s own Weapons Grade. No longer does development start in the military and seep its way to civilian applications. The smartphone, with its small package of GPS navigation, cameras, and data processing, in particular has aided drone development. The commercial competition of smartphone development has accelerated the power of drones. “A drone is simply a smartphone with wings, and the wings are the cheap part.”Hambling emphasizes small drones because, at the time of the book’s writing, 90% of the Pentagon’s drones weren’t the famed Reapers and Predators. They were small drones.Three issues for drones, the possible limitations on their use, are addressed.The first is the same limitation on battery power that bedevils consumer electronics. But the common lithium ion battery is not the only possible technology, but, putting aside possible alternatives still being researched, there are other options: fuel cells, solar cells (small drones, because of their size, are much better suited to being entirely solar powered), and simply stealing power for a battery recharge from an electric line. There are “biomimetic” options as well. Drones could perch between flights to save fuel. They can use the same aerial maneuvers to save energy that various birds do.The second problem is who flies the drone and how is it controlled in a long-distance environment often out of sight and with the enemy mounting jamming defenses. The answer is you can program the drone ahead of time and use “artificial intelligence” to help it carry out its missions and self-modify its instructions as well as seek out targets for death, destruction, or surveillance.So how much mayhem can a small drone carry out? More than you might think. In a chapter that was the most informative and startling to me, Hambling tells us. The big factor is the closeup precision the drone enables. That enables smaller payloads, and there a bunch of options. The Tec Torch slices through steel using a flashlight sized device and a small fuel cartridge. Thermobarics are enhanced explosives. A four pound charge can take down a building. Small incendiary charges can be carried drones. (The U.S. and Japan, in World War Two, tried just that with, respectively, bats and unmanned balloons.) Tanks can be taken out with relatively small charges if properly directed. And, of course, you can use good old fashioned firearms on a drone including an 12 gauge shotgun weighing less than two pounds. Drones themselves can be used to fly into jet engines. Non-lethal options include “laser dazzlers” to blind people.Or, for spy purposes, you can tap into radio communications and wi-fi with a drone.But it’s the “swarm” part of the title that’s truly important. You don’t have to worry about battery power if you continuously fly a swarm of drones, replacing individual drones when a recharge is needed. You can offload piloting and data processing to a flying mosaic of processors. “Quantity”, Joseph Stalin said, “has a quality all its own”. Not every drone has to get through to the enemy airfield or jet fighter or the radar equipment of an aircraft carrier. Mount a swarm of drones whose unit cost is under $10,000 and you can render that F-35 inoperable or engage in “aerial denial” of a piece of real estate. Individual drones can successively target until it’s destroyed.The defensive response is, of course, a swarm of your own, an option Hambling explores in the book and the related website. That part is still theoretical, but, lest you think Hambling is just engaged in abstract theorizing, the book is full of technical details on the drones in use and prototypes built by the time of the book’s publication.And don’t think standard techniques of arms control are going to be of any use. Most of drone technology is international and commercial. Anyone can buy it. Iran and its allies in the Middle East have already used, in combat, drones they built. And only one person has to come up with a design and the results can be publicized worldwide and sometimes built – at least in part – by a 3-D printer.Yes, the weak are about to become stronger. Military tactics and weapons development and production in America will need to be seriously rethought if it is to maintain its military supremacy.And using drones isn’t just a game for nations. Terrorists can use it. Biological agents and lethal chemicals are lightweight payloads. Terrorists or a nation could offload a drone swarm from a cargo container and make life miserable for the inhabitants of a city. We are in the same position civilians were doing the First World War. The drone will probably get through.And it doesn’t take much imagination to see how this could be tool could be used by governments against dissidents. Government options range from merely physical and electronic surveillance to that and one of those thermobaric payloads delivered to a dissident meeting house. Or you could simply be very ostentatious in your surveillance as a deterrent.One suspects that writers of science fiction and thrillers have already mined this book for ideas.But this is, after all mostly a history book now. We’re further along now in this timeline of potential dislocation, suppression, and terror. We now live in the prophet’s “valley of decision”.

Great read and a succinct play by play of the technological revolution that continues to accelerate! I also avidly read the author’s articles, which was why I was dismayed at so many grammatical, spelling and typo errors. Measure twice cut once please.

The Swarms are coming! Technology journalist David Hambling takes us on an engaging and enlightening excursion through the speedy development of drone know-how at bargain basement prices, creation at the speed of thought with a ten-cent budget; an evolution that could make a swarm of drones the ultimate weapon.Mr. Hambling examines each step of drone advancement documenting every point of government and commercial expertise in the industry, as well as the “Old School” mentality of the U.S. Pentagon; some are stubbornly refusing to accept the coming of the “new age.” The technology of drones has grown so considerably that swarms of them could threaten the U.S. military, including our latest fighter jets, bombers, and aircraft carriers.Historical analogies abound. Probably the most apropos to support some of Hambling’s claims would be the court-martial of Brigadier General William (Billy) L. Mitchell. A reluctant and inflexible Navy after caving from news media pressure of the day allowed Mitchell to bomb the old mothballed battleship Indiana with his planes as a demonstration. On November 1, 1920, Mitchell’s aerial group sank the ship. When the U.S. Navy’s obstinate denial of air superiority persisted, Billy Mitchell protested declaring, “almost treasonable administration of the national defense” for investing in battleships instead of aircraft carriers. That got him booted out of the service. And it came to pass after many years that a double irony arose. The second world war became the death knell of the battleship because aircraft carriers could launch fighter bombers at great distances from their targets sinking the iron and steel big-gunned behemoths with acceptable offensive casualties. Irony #2 was the advent of the B-25 Billy Mitchell Bomber designed to honor the "infamous" General. The twin-engine bomber served in every theater of World War II and after the war remained in service, operating across four decades.“Swarm Troopers” also predicts the supplementation of boots on the ground with"drones on the roof." The drone swarm may, in some cases, be able to supplant the conventional wisdom of the military alternative using direct unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intervention minimizing the prospect of soldiers coming home in body bags.Drones now present an alternative to collateral damage from five-hundred-pound bombs as well. Small UAVs can ferret out a single terrorist leader, follow and target him at a suitable time. They can sit beside roads or atop buildings, reading license plates and scanning faces. Soon they will be capable of sustaining missions weeks or months on end; a solar voltaic film on wings to charge their batteries while in flight during the day and perching like a bird on powerlines to recharge 24/7. They can and wait as long as needed, search at close range for hidden vehicles or concealed cave entrances and enter buildings through windows and doorways. Facial recognition software can locate an enemy for extermination or force the perp surrender. If the need for overwhelming force arises, drone swarms can destroy entire convoys or building complexes.David Hambling tells us, “There is little doubt that swarms of small drones can conquer the world. The question is who will be controlling those swarms, and who will be under their control.” WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

An excellent book on both the history and state of the art of drone technology. Well-researched and enjoyable to read, this book begins by introducing the reader to some of the fascinating precursors to modern day drone technology... bat bombs, Fu-Go balloons etc. and ends with some very detailed discussion about the possibilities presented by drone swarm technology. In the middle are fascinating revelations about who is working on drone technology, where the edges of the technology are, and the politics of drone technology. I found the book to be immensely thought provoking. The question in many technology circles is often; "If the technology is the best, why is it not implemented by us?". Swarm Troopers addresses that question in many ways that will likely surprise (and possibly anger) the reader. The presentation of the logistics and consequences of drone swarms predicted to be used for war purposes in the future are comprehensive and presented from a variety of perspectives. If you are interested in, or concerned about drone warfare, you will find this book an excellent time investment.

Really liked the history of drones - been around for longer than you would think - as well as the current and future military uses.Wisely doesn't go into engineering technicals since these are constantly evolving, but it makes you appreciate how hard generations of engineers have worked in this field and the hurdles such innovaters face.

An amazing book for drone enthusiasts. Loaded with information which is super exciting !!! Great readWish there pictures though

Well researched and written, a good read. Now my question is are my tax £s being wasted on expensive aircraft and is theira better way.

A grabbing title which gives this non-fiction book a real sci-fi feel and deservedly so. Drones have been a futuristic phenomenon mentioned in many sci-fi books and films, but we are now in that future. Drones have been used effectively and now every Military Unit wants one, and they are even the toy of the moment to be seen being flown by toy shop staff in every Mall.David Hambling offers an easy to read conversational tone throughout the book which keeps you flipping the pages and wanting more, the content is relevant and flows well; each chapter having an entertaining quote which is then explained in greater detail. Every fact is researched and proper references given for further study if you so wish.A must-have book for anyone interested in modern weapons, warfare or non-fiction writing. Although I am not often found reading military books this is really worth the time and effort. A super book and I will be reading more of his books.

It is the military that usually innovate new technologies first. Swarm Troopers - the impending 'future' that David Hambling describes in this book - will be accelerated into reality because it is riding on the coat-tails of the smartphone industry's massive investment in miniaturised components and the commercial drone industry which has already sold millions of drones. In a new page in the history of military technology, 100,000 Swarm Troopers could be deployed for less than the cost of one new F-35 Fighter Jet.This book is a fascinating run-through of what has happened, leading to what will happen. David writes really well. In particular, his technique of presenting each new angle as a mini-story results in an engrossing read.We all need to understand the potential of swarms replacing boots on the ground and David could not have provided us with a clearer picture. A must-read for anyone interested in this future technology.