14 Comments
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marcus816's avatar

Awesome reportage! You should definitely write that book! (After Putin and his unholy war of terror has been terminated.)

You have a gift. (Twenty-five years of bookselling experience here, specializing in narrative history, warfare and combat.)

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SandraLea's avatar

Absolutely fascinating!!! I know nothing about warfare, but this gives me such hope for Ukraine and much admiration. Unbelievable spirit and heart.

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Brian Rosen's avatar

What a frightening future we face when the enemy is so evil that we require such weaponry.

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Sijing's avatar

Why is the Krampus not vulnerable to electronic warfare and not subjected to battery life limitations? I thought since it's remotely operated, it will still share all these same limitations as the drones.

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DancingInAshes's avatar

It might be another test concept being talked up as an innovation when it will never make it to the battlefield.

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Conor Gallogly's avatar

I know that our relationship with Ukraine is strained right now so this is unlikely to happen.

But shouldn’t our military academies and armed forces be sending observers to Ukraine for on the ground learning?

And wouldn’t it behoove US firms to pay for their engineers to learn the concerns and challenges of forces on the ground?

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Robert Honeyman's avatar

How long before Russia develops their own deathbot?

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LaurenAZGoodGirl's avatar

Outstanding!

Now do a robotic launcher with a locally-produced missile like the Hellfire R9X, and call it Ginsu or Krueger!

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Andy Kotlarz's avatar

Excellent article - it gives us a glimpse into the future of warfare, where swift and nimble beats lumbering dinosaurs. Of technical AI-enabled asymmetric warfare.

NATO needs Ukraine.

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Elly Kay's avatar

Makes me wonder how Skynet showed up at first….

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Steve O’Cally's avatar

No, not weird. Thermobarics make big bangs. The flame doesn’t leave the blast cloud. Thermobarics can drop aircraft. Flamethrowers can’t.

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Alan's avatar

What would a thermobaric explosion do to a mine field? This one looks small enough (in area) that it would take a lot to force a route. But maybe a version that sprays the explosive over a longer path before exploding?

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Steve O’Cally's avatar

The physics is easy. The size of the bang depends on the dispersion of the explosive gas.

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That old Scottish git.'s avatar

The way Ukraine innovates is a huge lesson to every other military in the world. An entirely knew approach that most established militaries will not be able to adopt due to the career officers entrenched in the system.

It is also a frightening future. Imagine being on the receiving end of the full range of such drone armaments.

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