The Pentagon’s planned Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM), expected to launch by October 2027, aims to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous and robotic systems. According to De
The article reports a sharp rise in demand for private bunkers and fortified shelters, reflecting growing public anxiety about geopolitical instability, technological risks, and social unrest. Industr
The U.S. Army is testing counter-drone systems along the U.S.-Mexico border to address increasing cartel use of commercially available drones and to accelerate military innovation modeled on Ukraine’s
The Ethics of Responsibility in a World of Military AI
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ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org
IrregularChat: AI & Autonomy
1d ago
Elke Schwarz argues that the rapid development of military AI and autonomous weapons is intensifying the moral stakes of warfare, particularly as civilians suffer in ongoing conflicts and states incre
The United States has withdrawn all of its bombers—believed to be around a dozen B-1 Lancers—from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire following a counter-terrorism investigation and reports of a new threa
Negotiations between the Trump administration and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine reportedly include a proposed multibillion-dollar purchase of Lukoil’s global assets. The portfolio spans oil fi
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has launched Phase 3 of its Drone Dominance Program, committing $450 million to procure approximately 60,000 drones, divided evenly between two mission areas: Deep St
U.S. forces are scheduled to leave their remaining bases in Iraq by Wednesday, completing a withdrawal agreed to in 2024. The departure is being celebrated by Iran and its allied Iraqi militias as a m
A Reddit post in r/army discusses a Douyin image showing Chinese PLA OPFOR soldiers wearing imitation U.S. Army uniforms. The image draws attention to several inaccuracies, including “U.S. Army” name
The article describes the rapid deployment and development of US military laser weapons, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz and along the southern border. These systems use concentrated photons to d
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to give artificial intelligence and autonomous systems greater responsibility in military operations, but leaders recognize that widespread adoption depends on building
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is testing a domestically developed weapon designed to intercept drones and successfully destroyed an Iranian-designed Shahed drone overnight. He s
New photographs obtained by CBS News reportedly show extensive damage to U.S. military facilities, aircraft, vehicles and buildings across the Middle East following Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Anthropic released a 154-page report detailing how its Claude AI models were misused over the past eight months by adversaries and other malicious actors across several countries, including Iran, Yeme
Saudi Arabia said it shut down its key East-West crude oil pipeline as a precaution after drone attacks from Iraq struck the line in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday morning. The attacks caus
U.S. President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russia’s diesel fuel infrastructure, arguing that the attacks are worsening a global diesel shortage. Spea
A senior Defense Innovation Unit leader urged the Navy to move far faster toward unmanned vessels and reduce reliance on manned platforms. Matthew Shortal, DIU’s principal deputy director and chief co
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are creating a new branch dedicated to unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, according to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. He said the new Unmanned Systems a
The U.S. Air Force is seeking a new portable, medium-caliber air-defense gun designed to counter drones and subsonic cruise missiles after Iranian attacks exposed gaps in U.S. base defense in the Midd
At the MSPO defense industry show in Kielce, Poland, South Korea’s Hanwha promoted a new mobile counter-drone weapon aimed at NATO eastern flank countries seeking low-cost air defense options. The sys
Diplomats meeting in Geneva under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons are struggling to reach agreement on a draft text that could open the door to international rules on autonomous weapons
US military officials have disabled advertising trackers, known as mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs), on a range of phones and computers after concerns that commercially sold location data could be used
The U.S. military has disabled mobile advertising tracking tools on government-issued phones, computers, and other devices after concerns that commercially available location data was being used by Ir
Blackhawk Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, conducted a 10-day training exercise called Combined Resolve at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, beginning April
The U.S. Army has awarded AeroVironment, Inc. a $464.8 million production contract for the Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program, marking the first production contract ever for a directed energy
In April 2026, Blackhawk Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, conducted a 10-day Combined Resolve training exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The unit
The article describes the RoboGames, a major grassroots robot-fighting tournament held in San Mateo, California, where teams compete in heavily armored, weaponized machines. In one match, a 60-pound r
The article argues that space warfare is shifting from a “space Pearl Harbor” model toward a prolonged contest over preserving, denying, and regenerating space-enabled services during wider terrestria
An article from The War Horse describes how four Army Reserve soldiers wounded in the March 1 Iranian drone attack on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, say the military medical system failed them during recovery.
A recent Pentagon assessment warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that continuing the current level of U.S. military operations against Iran could weaken America’s ability to respond to other threats
The Pentagon has reportedly hired several conservative military veterans with large social media followings for undisclosed government roles, raising questions about transparency and Defense Secretary
Senior U.S. military, federal, law enforcement, and industry officials met in Virginia for Joint Interagency Task Force 401’s second summit to review progress on building a national counter-drone surv
The USS Benfold, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, was reportedly left adrift in the South China Sea for four days in July 2026 after suffering an “engineering casualty” that knocked out its generators
US bases, troops are once again being exposed by Strava
news
taskandpurpose.com
IrregularChat: Modern Warfare
Aug 16
Eight years after the “Strava heat map” first exposed sensitive U.S. troop locations, service members in the Middle East are still sharing fitness-app data despite military restrictions. A Sky News in
Eight years after the “Strava heat map” first exposed sensitive U.S. troop locations, service members in the Middle East are still sharing fitness-app data despite military restrictions. A Sky News in
The article argues that the federal government’s new SAFER SKIES implementation rule expands counter-drone authority but still leaves law enforcement without a critical tool: kinetic interceptors. It
Ukrainian battlefield innovation, especially in drones, has shifted modern warfare and is now influencing U.S. military planning. Two years ago, Ukrainian engineers began experimenting with drone-on-d
Taiwan’s Matsu Defense Command is expanding its drone capabilities to better respond to a rapidly changing battlefield. According to the report, the command recently held a workshop with the Coast Gua
The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Epirus an $11 million contract for HAVOC, a vehicle-mounted high-power microwave weapon designed to disable drone swarms with a single electromagnetic pulse. The syst
Reports of drones over the remote U.S.-U.K. military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean have raised fresh concerns about base security and the vulnerability of exposed aircraft and infrastructur
Iran’s parliament is considering a plan to block ships linked to the United States, Israel, and other countries Tehran calls “hostile” from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s mos
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly attacked a US military base in Kuwait on Tuesday morning, according to a source familiar with the details who spoke to The Jerusalem Post. Th
The US has warned American citizens across the Middle East to stay alert and be prepared to leave if tensions escalate further, amid reports that President Donald Trump may be considering new strikes
Middle Eastern mobile networks were repeatedly targeted by cyberattacks during the Iran war to track the locations of US personnel and contractors, according to telecom data and people familiar with t
A Financial Times report says Iran may be using long-known telecom weaknesses and commercially sold location data to track U.S. troops across the Middle East, including in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The
Israel has said it has “no interest” in joining the renewed US military campaign against Iran, according to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He argued that the current situation—where the US
Allen Control Systems (ACS) announced that the U.S. Marine Corps has selected its Bullfrog autonomous weapon system for integration into airborne defense efforts. The AI-enabled system detects, tracks
On July 17, Xi Jinping gave the keynote address at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, his first in-person appearance at the event since 2018. His speech highlighted Beijing’s gr
The U.S. Air Force is seeking industry partners to provide a ground-based launcher system to protect its installations from cruise missiles and drones. Through a Request for Information due Aug. 6, th