Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
Ukraine long-range drone strikes defeat advanced Russian anti-air by flying low, limiting the coverage of radars and confusing them with ground structures, while also using AI to target vulnerable and important targets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRRNlXjHLZc
Russia is moving air-defense assets to Moscow for their annual Victory Day Parade, making the rest of the country more vulnerable! This makes Putin and Russia look weak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqZlQwvmPpw
The US is not adapting fast enough to modern drone warfare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He00DasZ2MQ
Israelis are having a tough time with FPV drones in Lebanon. Are Americans ready for this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhtc9COUi78
Trump was offered Ukrainian anti-drone systems last year, and he turned it down. There would likely be less destroy American equipment and fewer dead Americans if the US had acquired these systems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GubqClU4T3A
The US is developing a variety of advanced drones that complicate the threat the US can pose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS7LzyPpfcM
“It is already in the hands of deployed forces preparing for real-world missions.
At its core, SMASH is built around automated target tracking and real-time ballistic computation. When a shooter brings the optic onto a target, the system identifies and locks onto it using onboard visual processing. From there, it continuously analyzes movement, range estimation cues, and the shooter’s own weapon stability.
…
The optic calculates when a projectile from the rifle will intersect the moving target’s path, accounting for variables such as target velocity, angle change, and shooter-induced sway. Rather than relying purely on instinct and reaction time, the system shifts the hardest part of the engagement into computation. It’s a game changer.
In operational terms, the trigger mechanism is also governed by this solution.
The weapon will not release a shot unless the calculated hit probability meets a defined threshold, though operators can override the system if required. This introduces a hybrid firing model: human intent still initiates engagement, but the system determines optimal timing.”
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/science/articles/iranian-drone-problem-forced-radical-131553282.html
The US really needs to up their game when it comes to mass, cheap, attritable drones.
Many US methods are obsolete and America’s industrial base is not prepared to mass produce drones. Russia and China are already ahead of the US in drone warfare.
The US needs to work with Ukraine to learn from their experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzuiV2WWoVU
The MQ-9 Reaper drone was great when the enemy didn’t have anti-air capabilities, but when they do, the slow, loud, and radar-visible drone is easily shot down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPY7CFUNW5k
US loss multiple planes in Iranian strike in Saudi Arabia, likely with help from Russian intelligence. The US did not learn or implement the lessons from Ukraine regarding drones and protecting planes on the ground. The US looks like Russia losing expensive aircraft on the ground. The US is losing planes, people, radars, and facilities, and so far has gotten nothing from Iran. Iran shows no sign of giving in, and if they don’t, then the US lost expensive equipment, munitions, and lives for little gain. The US is showing that it is not ready for the new change in warfare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c594aKVeLLM