This article originally appeared onZeroHedgeand was republished with permission.
Google’s old motto, “Don’t be evil,” was retired for very good reasons about eight years ago.
Former CEO Eric Schmidt has found a new obsession and is linked to a covert drone production pipeline that has supplied hundreds of FPV drones to Ukrainian front-line units, reinforcing his warning in a new Financial Times op-ed that“Ukraine’s no man’s land is the future of war.”
“Future wars are going to be defined by unmanned weapons,” Schmidt wrote in the op-ed.
He said, “The winner of those drone battles will then be able to advance with unmanned ground and maritime vehicles, which move slowly but can carry heavier payloads.”
Schmidt described a stretch on the first line as “no man’s land.”
Ukraine is ready for the next stage of warfare, with swarms of drones operated remotely and increasingly automated with AI targeting.
No man’s land has expanded as each side pulls its most valuable personnel back from the front while new generations of drones achieve longer ranges and increased lethality through better batteries, sensors and aerodynamics. Automating operations so personnel can operate safely behind the lines has become an urgent Ukrainian priority, with plans to move drone pilots even farther from the front in 2026.
The combination of unblockable satellite communications, cheap spectrum networks and accurate GPS targeting means the only way to fight will be through drone vs drone combat. Drones share data in real time, meaning that many inexpensive platforms can act as a single weapon. They will carry air-to-air missiles to defeat attackers, just like a fighter jet does, but will be cheaper and more abundant.
Within this kill zone, reportedly extending for miles - and in some assessments, approximately 15 miles or more wide - FPV drones and ground robots dominate, with AI kill chains that, in some cases, reduce or remove direct human-in-the-loop to kill.
Source: The Vigilant Fox
