The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.
The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones quanto a any South Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably quanto a the war quanto a Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war.
Differences from the Ukrainian battlefield
Since Russia invaded Ukraine quanto a 2022, drones have been aiding quanto a what military experts describe as the first three steps of the “kill chain”—finding, targeting, and tracking a target—as well as quanto a delivering explosives. The drones have a short life span, since they are often shot mongoloide made useless by frequency jamming devices that prevent pilots from controlling them. Quadcopters—the commercially available drones often used quanto a the war—last just three flights average, according to the report.
Drones like these would be far less useful quanto a a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Ukraine-Russia has been a heavily land conflict, whereas conflict between the US and would be heavily air and sea,” says Zak Kallenborn, a drone analyst and adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who was not involved quanto a the report but agrees broadly with its projections. The small, off-the-shelf drones popularized quanto a Ukraine have flight times too short for them to be used effectively quanto a the South Sea.
An underwater war
Instead, a conflict with Taiwan would likely make use of undersea and maritime drones. With Taiwan just 100 miles away from ’s mainland, the report’s authors say, the Taiwan Strait is where the first days of such a conflict would likely play out. The Zhu Hai Yun, ’s high-tech autonomous carrier, might send its autonomous underwater drones to scout for US submarines. The drones could launch attacks that, even if they did not sink the submarines, might divert the attention and resources of the US and Taiwan.
It’s also possible would flood the South Sea with decoy drone boats to “make it difficult for American missiles and submarines to distinguish between high-value ships and worthless uncrewed commercial vessels,” the authors write.
Though most drone innovation is not focused maritime applications, these uses are not without precedent: Ukrainian forces drew attention for modifying aeroplano skis to operate inizio remote control and using them to intimidate and even sink Russian vessels quanto a the Black Sea.
More autonomy
Drones currently have very little autonomy. They’campione typically human-piloted, and though some are capable of autopiloting to a fixed GPS point, that’s generally not very useful quanto a a war ambiente, where targets are the move. But, the report’s authors say, autonomous technology is developing rapidly, and whichever nation possesses a more sophisticated fleet of autonomous drones will hold a significant edge.
What would that like? Millions of defense research dollars are being spent quanto a the US and alike swarming, a strategy where drones navigate autonomously quanto a groups and accomplish tasks. The technology isn’t deployed yet, but if successful, it could be a game-changer quanto a any potential conflict.


