China tests swarm of ‘suicide drones’ launched from a truck and helicopters

Everyday the novel Ghost Fleet written in 2015 by PW Singer is becoming a daily reality.

SCARY.

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Insider says the small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft was commissioned under Beijing’s military-civilian fusion strategy

He doesn’t give details of the aircraft, but they appear to be similar to the country’s first tactical attack drone, according to video footage

Minnie Chan 16 Oct, 2020

Video footage shows the kamikaze drones being test-launched last month. Photo: Weibo

China has developed a new low-cost “suicide drone” that is despatched in a swarm to attack a target, according to mainland media reports.It was commissioned as part of the government’s military-civilian fusion strategy, a People’s Liberation Army insider who requested anonymity told the South China Morning Post. The policy seeks to boost military development with civilian and private sector support.

A swarm of the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles was tested last month by the developer, a research institute under state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, according to a video released by the company.

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Mean Streets: The Clash of Technology and Terrain in Urban Warfare

From the Archives, 2016

 In urban environments, the playing field is levelled between the conventional armies and insurgents

 

BE IT ALEPPO or Damascus, Mosul or Ramadi, or even Eastern Ukraine, combatants in today’s conflicts are frequently fighting in and over urban areas.

The decision to wage war in cities is driven in part by modern military technology. Frequently, lightly equipped insurgent forces simply cannot survive on open terrain against even a moderately well-equipped conventional force. Their forte is the close combat that is best found in cityscapes.

Urban areas provide an abundance of cover, like walls, basements, sewers and piles of rubble, that frequently negate the advanced sensors and smart technology of 21^stCentury militaries. Such obstacles transform urban engagements into short-ranged wars of attrition, which offset the advantages conventional armies normally enjoy in more open environments. Civilian populations only add additional challenges for armies given prevailing modern international norms on non-combatant casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. This makes cities even more desirable battlegrounds for non-state actors as fighting in such settings raises the costs for the states that are trying to dislodge them.

The Birth of Urban Warfare

Historians can trace this collision of urban terrain and modern military technology back to the mid-19^th century.

In the 1800s, as industrializing cities expanded, traditional defensive walls were rendered impractical. Advances in the range and destructiveness of artillery made such fortifications obsolete. Urban warfare began the shift from the protracted siege of the Middle Ages to the street-to street fighting of the modern era. Of course sieges still occurred (e.g., Paris 1870, Leningrad 1941 to 1944) but more often, battles were being fought within the cities themselves (e.g., Stalingrad 1942, Manila 1945, Seoul 1950, Hue 1968).

Cities: The Level Playing Field

Unfortunately for conventional armies, breakthroughs in weaponry made for modern mass armies that were better suited for war on open ground. Smooth-bore muskets, rarely effective beyond 100 meters, gave way to bolt-action rifles and machine guns that could cut down masses of men out to 1,000 meters with unprecedented rates of fire. Tanks and ground attack aircraft (both fixed and rotary wing) were also made for wide open environments.

But in urban environments, the playing field is levelled between conventional armies and insurgents. This is not to say guerrilla forces can prevail against advanced militaries, but they can inflict significant (if not intolerable) losses on their conventional opponents, even while taking grievous casualties in the process. In rare cases, insurgents might even give as well as they get (e.g., Chechen rebels in Grozny in 1995). Yet sometimes even just killing a few enemy soldiers can be enough to deliver a movement a strategic victory (e.g., Mogadishu 1993).

So the next time you see a news report of insurgents fighting in urban terrain, consider both why they chose to fight there and look for how the conventional opponents are seeking to overcome the challenges of that difficult terrain.

Dr. Alec Wahlman is an analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia. His recently released book, Storming the City, assesses U.S. military performance in four major urban battles from WWII to Vietnam.

Read the Remainder at Military History Now

Learning from Insurgent Tactics: The Vehicle as a Weapon

From the Archives, 2015

Armored Van used in Attack on Dallas PD 6/13. Bought on Ebay for $8K

The attack on Dallas PD this past Saturday by a man in an armored van represents a variation on a tactic that has not been seen since the DC Sniper Murders in 2002, where a man and his young accomplice, using a Chevy Caprice sedan and turning the trunk into a “mobile” sniper hide, killed 10 people and critically wounded three others. The two concepts, an Armored Wagon or Van and the Mobile Sniper Hide, have at their core, basically the same concept: To Use a vehicle as a platform for a shooter or shooters to engage civilians and law enforcement, attempting to kill as many as possible. The differences lay in HOW these methods are applied.

The Mobile Sniper Hide (MSH) is a covert weapon, meaning it’s strength lies in NOT being detected, as the shooter engages targets both quietly and quickly as possible, keeping the location of the shooter (and shot) both hid (in the DC Sniper Case, by shooting from the car’s trunk through a small hole). The Armored Wagon on the other hand, OVERTLY engages targets (through gun ports), purposely drawing fire as it rolls on, ie like the Dallas PD attack recently.

The critical keys to remember if the AV concept is to work effectively, is that the engine block must be further bullet proofed (a .50 Caliber round took out the engine block) the tires must be run flats and reserve fuel bladders added.  If the engine or tires get disabled, or you run out of gas at a critical juncture, you are no longer mobile and have no egress options available; you are dead in the water, literally.

As far as the two concepts go, the Mobile Sniper Hide is a much more effective tool for the lone or small unit of of Guerilla fighters who live in a civilian population that is not controlled by military forces. Less attention is drawn to the vehicle as a whole, making it easier to hit and run (in reference to the One Shot Sniper Method discussed in the book Fry the Brain by John West.)

If history is studied, armored vans (or improvised fighting vehicles) work well in WAR zones, where both the VOLUME of fire coming OUT of the vehicle and the expectation of SUPPORT (from other vehicles and infantry) can be expected to be large. The downside of course is ANTI–Tank and Vehicle weapons such as Mines, IED’s, RPG’s, Javelins and Grenade Launchers. The evolution of the IFV is an interesting study for the CO. Although I typically steer away from Wiki-Pedia, their entry on this subject is quite extensive and for the most part, correct. Read it HERE.

Another element of the insurgents use of vehicles to achieve a desired aim can be seen currently with the situation in Iraq where a large number of American Humvees that had been given to the Iraqi Security Forces were stolen by ISIS and turned into VBIED’s (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices). Read that story HERE. 

VBIED’s (or car bombs) have been a technique that has seen widespread use by insurgents and terrorist alike. Some of the worst attacks (as far a total number killed) have occurred on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, if you ask any American with a sense of history, they will tell you by far, the two attacks that are seared into their memory are The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing and the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, both car bomb attacks.

In 2010, a car bomb was detected and diffused in New York’s Times Square, thanks to some street vendors who were paying attention. Just another example of why AWARENESS is our first and primary weapon in self-defense.

 

Bibliography and Suggested Reading

• Fry the Brain by John West

• Buda’s Wagon by Mike Davis

• Bandit Country by Toby Harnden

• Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough

 

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

Urban Guerilla Sniping v3.0

From the Archives, 2014.

“History is nothing else than a long succession of useless cruelties.” (Voltaire)

 

When you look at the situation in Syria, you see the logic in Voltaire’s prose. I suppose it is the hopeless romantic in me that wishes for a world that is not filled with asshole tyrants and despots that take advantage of the less fortunate; cowards that give “kill” orders daily, slaughtering civilians in the street like cattle. But since “hoping” for something is akin to pissing in the wind and wondering why you are getting wet, I take comfort in the fact that history is also replete with examples of men and women who stand up to tyrants. People that take action and arms against their aggressors. People who are tired of words and useless diplomacy and choose to fight “fire with fire”. Who are these people? You might recognize them, they are just like you and me; “Average Joe” Civilian Operators. who want a better life for themselves and their families and are willing to fight and die for it if necessary. After all aren’t heroes just ordinary folks put in extraordinary situations?

Guerilla Warfare and it’s practical applications should be something the CO studies on a daily basis, and right now, halfway across the world in Aleppo, Syria, there is a virtual “Urban Guerilla” school going on, everyday, 24 hours, around the clock. Now this school has been held in different locales over the years: Northern Ireland, Chechnya, the Philipines; the situation always the same; A vastly under-manned, under-equipped civilian/para-military force, fighting a militarily superior army, hitting them on their own terms using IED’s, hit and run ambushes and (Urban) Guerilla Sniping, attempting to win by attrition, constantly harassing, constantly prodding the enemy, until the war is won.

Before we continue, we need to clarify something. Guerilla Sniping is one of those “tactical misnomers” in my opinion, only because anytime you say the word “Sniper” immediately people think of Marky-Mark Wahlberg in the opening scene of Shooter making these 800 to 1,000 yard shots with his trusty Barrett and his ghille-suit on, with his spotter at his side calling the shots… ..nothing could be further from the truth! (Although that was an entertaining movie taken from the novels of Stephen Hunter).

In John West’ superb book Fry the Brain: The Art of Urban Sniping and it’s role in Modern Guerilla Warfare, West states that “Urban Guerilla sniping is a drastic departure from the traditional concepts of sniping”. He goes on to lay out several reasons for this, the most prominent being the “Long Range Myth”. Where most would think the sniper’s role of taking extremely long shots, the Guerilla Sniper turns that paradigm on it’s head. Citing historical examples from Chechnya and Iraq, where ranges of 50 to 200 meters were the norm, 200 yards even being at the far end of the scale.

Another key element of Guerilla Sniping is the dependence on Guerilla Tactics NOT  Elite Hardware or training to get the job done. West states “To connect the dots of the urban sniper one must first realize it is the guerilla’s unconventional tactics that make them effective, not their exceptional shooting ability.”

Check out this superb little video of Urban-Guerilla Sniping in Aleppo, Syria.

There are several things of note we can take away from this video:

1. Note the spot welded scope rails onto the dust covers of the SKS’ and AK’s to hold zero; yeah not the greatest ideal in the world, but the Guerilla has to work with the materials he has available; the book Guerilla Gunsmithing  is a decent primer on the subject.

2. The weapons are a mixed bag, but all of them make superb guerilla sniper weapons. Remember, we are not talking 1,000 yd yard shots here. Example:  With a steady rest, could you shoot a cantaloupe at 100 yds with your AK with open sights or even a 3x red dot? Guerilla Sniping is “out of the box” that is why the word “Guerilla” is often associated with the terms “Un-Conventional” or “Irregular”.

3. The optics are a mixed bag, note that the higher magnification optics are saved for the larger caliber G3 clones and FAL’s, while the smaller 3x ACOG knockoffs remain on the AK and SKS’s.

4. The snipers employ traditional urban-guerilla tactics to avoid detection and confuse the enemy including:

• “Position Overload”:  Firing from an area with many potential firing positions; a building for instance with 14 open windows or “loopholes”.

• “Splitting the Seams”:  Using the urban terrain to your advantage and firing from a position where the enemy cannot backtrack your firing azimuth; an example would be firing from a building that is adjacent too, or next to another building.

• Loophole or Keyhole Shots: Loophole shooting is firing from a very small hole in the wall, either cut by the sniper or a natural deformity, like a hole from an artillery blast. Keyhole shooting is where you fire through a loophole from deep in the room, hiding your muzzle flash and suppressing/masking your sound signature. Some snipers in Chechnya for example would fire from deep in the structure, down a long hallway and through an open door or window.

•  Multiple Shooters: Self-Explanatory tactic where several snipers are operating in the same area sometimes targeting the same or multiple objectives. If communication can be synchronized, snipers in different locations can fire in unison at different targets, confusing the enemy even more.
  

So, when you lay your head down tonight, thank God for what you have and say a little prayer for the FSA and the Snipers in Aleppo, asking that their AIM be TRUE, and their enemies stay STILL!!!

Study up, Train Hard and Stay Dangerous!

Why the Average Civilian Should Study Asymmetrical Warfare

From the Archives, 2015.

I got asked this question the other day by a close friend and it occurred to me that I had never really plainly answered that question on this blog, even though I talk about the subject frequently. I think the best way to approach this subject is through historical precedent. It is no coincidence that in the study of Asymmetrical warfare, that the historical study and analysis is often the first step in understanding how to apply the principles of GW (Guerilla Warfare) in a practical and concise manner. So it is fitting that this same historical analysis be the very thing that quantifies it and makes it relevant to the “Average Joe”.

Since the beginning of time, man has sought to have power over other men. Before Democracy was birthed, we can read in volume after volume of history books about the terrible political experiments that were carried out through the ages to try to satisfy this thirst for control and power. No matter what people called them: Dictatorships, Totalitarianism or Communism, all of them eventually failed. And though it can be argued by historians and political scientist alikeWHY  exactly each of these experiments failed, whether it be Atheism or political corruption or both. The layman can piece together a fairly good explanation without a Phd to back it up. In a simple word:  Tyranny.

Websters defines Tyranny as:

“Cruel and unfair treatment by people with power over others;  a government in which all power belongs to one person; the rule or authority of a tyrant.”

The Free Dictionary defines it as:

“Unjust or oppressive governmental power: A government in which a single ruleris vested with absolute power.”

No matter how you define it, or which definition you prefer, one thing is for certain from the historical record: Tyranny will only be tolerated for a season. Good people will only take abuse for so long before they FIGHT back and if history is an indicator, in most cases, PREVAIL. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at a couple of examples from History and see if this notion does not hold water, so to speak.

The first example comes from America’s very own beginnings. That’s right. The nation you live in and love and cherish (I Hope) was birthed out of REBELLION TO TYRANNY. See, way back in the 18th century there was this thing called the 13 Colonies and this really power-hungry country called England…Stop me if you have heard this one before. One thing led to another and there was this thing called The Boston Tea Party and then the “Shot heard round the World” and finally this document called the Declaration of Independence. Yeah, you get the picture. Well,  something you may not know is that besides the Colonial Army, which George Washington was the General of, there was also these things called Colonial Militias.

Now these militias were composed of every day civilian joes like you and me. They would meet up regularly to train with their RIFLES and work on their battlefield tactics. Well, long story short it was these militias that often dealt the British the most grief during the Revolutionary War. And by “grief” I mean these militias not only frustrated the British Army brass by their tactics, but also Killed a great number of their soldiers. Answering the “how” of this is quite simple: The militias very often did not fight like the British Army fought. The European battlefield standard in the 18th century was for two armies to ceremoniously march their armies out into a field, line up across from one another, aim their rifles and upon command, fire. You do not have to be a brilliant military strategist to realize that this method was about as stupid as pissing in the wind and wondering why you are getting wet.

Well, the militias also shared this opinion. So they employed different tactics, what the British back then called “Indian Fighting”; something the English army were painfully familiar with from the French and Indian War. During that period, Indian tribes allied with the French (like the Delaware, Huron and Shawnee) would often decimate entire British companies in the field using a combination of speed, knowledge of the terrain, surprise (ambush) and extreme violence of action (very often vicious hand-to-hand fighting with tomahawks, knives and clubs.) Instead of standing out in the open, the indian would hide behind a tree. Instead of fighting in an open field, the indian would attack in the thick woods, choosing the time and place of the engagement, thereby controlling it and ultimately winning. The militias,  took notice of these skill-sets and tactics and applied them accordingly. Not exactly what you would call “conventional military tactics” for that time period.

The Colonial militias utilized every aspect of this so-called “Indian fighting” (later to be termed Guerilla Warfare) to harass and decimate the British up and down the colonies. But nowhere were these tactics more evident and successful than in South Carolina, by a man named General Francis Marion, aka “The Swamp Fox.” To this day, Marion is credited with being one of the “fathers” of modern Guerilla Warfare methodology and is credited in the lineage of the US Army Rangers. Consequently, it was the US Army Rangers namesake, Robert Rogers and The Rogers Rangers who were credited with first adopting many of these “indian style” guerilla tactics and adapting them to light infantry reconnaissance while fighting with the British during the French and Indian War.

Moving across the globe to South Africa and ahead in time to right around the turn of the 20th century, we can find another great example of your average “joe” civilian forming militias and using “unconventional” tactics to fight a tyrannical invader. The Second Boer War  was yet another example of British Colonialism gone awry. You would think by now after getting their asses kicked out of America they would get the hint, but that is the curious thing about the English; their hubris sometimes blinds them to the obvious.

Before we get into the meat of this story, it will help you tremendously if you first understand who the Boer people were. THIS is one of the best descriptions I think.  One of the qualities of the Boers that I think is VERY important to understand for the modern-day armed civilian is that they were a people who were very COMFORTABLE with firearms and their use, most particularly the Rifle. Living in rural Africa during that time period (and even now) you had to be handy with a gun, not only for hunting but for PROTECTION from predators such as lions.

Boer Guerillas

It is this “Familiarity” with Firearms that Boer parents encouraged with their children at a very young age that eventually created a nation of RIFLEMAN. It would be these rifleman, who in small squads, and using guerilla “hit-and-run” tactics would harass and at times, decimate the British Army by making “every round count” and using the terrain to their advantage to make the larger numbers of the British count for nothing.

Another important element of why the civilian should study Asymmetrical warfare, most importantly, the historic aspect, has to do with learning about the successes and mistakes of past counter-insurgency campaigns. Why? You may ask. Because by learning about these past successes or failures, you can better exploit, as a future guerilla (or insurgent) the mistakes of your enemy in future conflicts as it relates mostly to PUBLIC OPINION and SENTIMENT. Let me give you an example.

In the latter years of the War, the British in response to the successes of the Boers Guerilla Campaign by their “Kommandoes” (or Mounted Infantry Unit or Regiment)  instituted what would now be coined a “Scorched Earth” Policy. Any civilians who were thought to have aided the guerillas had their farms and houses burned, their livestock slaughtered and were typically sent off to “concentration camps”. As you can imagine these tactics were resented by the civilian populace; the Boer Kommando exploited that resentment and hate against the British to build consensus with the civilian population, whereby gaining a strong ally, both in the field and politically.

It can be said then that the Boers were successful in their Guerilla Campaign because of three Primary things:

1. They tapped into NATIONALIST Sentiment.When a man or woman has PRIDE in what they are fighting for, they will often fight harder than they would otherwise.

2. The Boers got the MAJORITY of the Population behind them. Public sentiment (both locally and globally) swings a big stick in Counter-Insurgency; it basically either makes you legit or not. Without public support, the British did not stand a chance. Look at any modern COIN example, like Afghanistan and you see the parallel.

3. The Boer Kommando continuously sought to agitate the British to STRIKE out at the civilian populace;  because the more the British pissed off the public, Two things happened: the more the Boer’s Guerilla ranks would grow with new recruits and the LESS popular support the British would get. You see the cycle forming? That’s the essence of Guerilla Warfare right there.

So with just these two examples I just presented of everyday civilians having to take up the burden of becoming Guerilla Fighters in order that tyrannical government no longer rides rough-tread over their liberties and lives, I ask you, do you still wonder why an everyday civilian such as yourself should study Asymmetrical Warfare? Yeah, that is what I thought!

But alas, my story is not finished yet. Because even though these two stories were relevant and inspiring, they both happened quite a long time ago, and like all things that pass with time, warfare has modernized also. And oh yeah, there were these things called the personal computer the internet and social media invented somewhere in between all of this, so where does all that fit in? The simple answer to that is it fits in EVERYWHERE. Technology is King. The US Department of Defense announced that cyber-warfare is now the “fifth dimension” of warfare (To join Sea, Air, Land and Space.)

Here is a quote from their website concerning the new “cyber-mission” force:

“State and non-state actors threaten disruptive and destructive attacks against the United States and conduct cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property to undercut the United States’ technological and military advantage. DoD must develop its cyber forces and strengthen its cyber defense and cyber deterrence posture.”

Used too to be to rob a bank you needed a mask, a gun and a big set of nuts. Now, all you need is a good DSL connection and the cyber black hat skill-set’s that a large portion of teenagers across the globe possess. Used too to steal state secrets you needed really talented spies, now, yeah you guessed it, all you need is a good DSL connection and the cyber black hat skill-sets that most teenagers across the globe possess. Point being, technology is a weapon; and like any weapon it is inherently not good or evil, it just is. The good or evil comes from HOW it is used.

So where does this leave the 2015 modern guerilla? Where on the one hand you can look at how terrorist groups like ISIS exploit social media and the web for their own benefit; since guerilla warfare is essentially about “Controlling the Narrative” and gaining popular support to make their cause legitimate, there is no better place to do that than social media. One the other hand, the modern guerilla can look at how DEPENDENT not only modern armies but ENTIRE developed nations are on technology and see that as a definite weakness to be exploited..and they have been exploited BIG TIME. Consider the latest US Government OPM (Office of Personnel Management) Hack; called by one cyber-analyst our  “Cyber Pearl Harbor.” To put it simply: EVERY Federal Employee’s and Retiree’s information and up to a Million former federal employees personal information was compromised.

So, ultimately it can be said, that regardless of modernization and technology, there are definitely”Baseline” skill-sets that should NEVER change for the Guerilla, regardless of the time period. The Guerilla, to maintain his edge,  can never “depend”on technology to the degree a modern military (and the World) does. Example, the infantry officer that skips his compass and map reading training because he things he will always have his Garmin GPS unit…or the Artillery officer that never learned how to compute his firing solutions manually because of being spoiled to a computer, or worse of all, a Government agency that leaves senstive date unsecured. In all these cases, they are one EMP blast or one black hat hack away from being put back in the stone age and then what? What about the American civilian without their cell phone? Yeah, one word: Lost. These sheep have become so spoiled to “modern” conveniences they have become totally useless in the real sense of survival.

So in closing, the Modern Guerilla must know how to exploit and use technology, but never get too dependent on it to function. and survive. The guerilla must accept that the forthcoming battlefield will have a cyber element to it, without a doubt, but using the modern insurgencies of the time as a harbinger; the real battles will ultimately be one one bullet at a time and one bad PR news story (or Facebook Post) at a time, just like in our previous two examples showed. As I said, the Weapons (including technology) may change over time, but the Fundamentals of Guerilla Warfare never do.

Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!

Bibliography and Suggested Reading:

 

Future Crimes by Marc Goodman

Invisible Armies by Max Boot

The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot

War on the Run by John F. Ross

The Boer War by Thomas Parkenham

Special Operations in the American Revolution by Robert Tonsetic

Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout(Ebook) by Major F.M. Crum (British sniper whose career spans from the Boer War to WW1.)