We have more newsletters

After facing an estimated 100,000 casualties and being forced to withdraw from the city of Kherson, it seems like things can't get much worse for invading Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

But it turns out that they can. Last month, the UK government announced plans to send 850 tiny 'microdrones' to Ukraine for use in close-quarters combat.

These six-inch 'Black Hornet' AI weigh around the same as a plum. Controlled with an iPad, they can creep around corners and sneak through open windows to give Ukrainian soldiers access to HD footage of enemy positions.

READ NEXT: Kremlin 'very keen' to discuss ending Putin's war in Ukraine after embarrassing losses

The £10,000 drones aren't cheap, but offer the military powerful 'situational awareness' without having to put human personnel at risk.

The Black Hornets can fly very quietly thanks to minimal rotor noise, and are almost impossible to spot with the naked eye. They even have an autopilot feature as well as night vision, making them the perfect tool for spying.

However, there are still issues with small drones like these. The Black Hornet needs a military operative to position themselves less than 2km away while they pilot it, meaning they're still placed at risk.

There's also ethical questions around the use of drones in combat, particularly as the use of AI becomes more widespread and the drones become 'autonomous'.

• 

  'Bouncy' British £4million pavement charges your smartphone with pedestrian footsteps

Fortunately, the Black Hornet drones aren't equipped with any weapons, so they can't perform close-quarters assassinations—at least not yet.

However, armed autonomous drones are already becoming such a military threat that the British Army has begun testing a laser-powered 'death ray' which can blast drones out of the sky from up to two miles away.

The anti-drone laser weapons are so accurate they can hit a target as small as a £1 coin moving at the speed of sound.

READ MORE:

• Elon Musk loses £8bn net worth since buying Twitter but remains world's richest man
• Your phone is 10 times dirtier than a toilet so clean it right now
• World's biggest plane with 383-foot wingspan seen carrying hypersonic prototype
• AI could be used to raise a 'killer army of bees'
• Deepfake challenge of Scarlett Johansson and Elizabeth Olsen leaves viewers baffled

• Drone
• Russia Ukraine war
• Military

Source: Read Full Article