{"id":10482,"date":"2022-07-22T18:44:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T21:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=10482"},"modified":"2022-07-22T18:44:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T21:44:24","slug":"loitering-munitions-un-nuevo-mercado-que-crece-muy-rapidamente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=10482","title":{"rendered":"Loitering Munitions, un nuevo mercado que crece muy r\u00e1pidamente"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los recientes conflictos como el de Nagorno Karabaj y la invasi\u00f3n de Rusia a Ucrania, han demostrado la efectividad y letalidad de los sistemas aut\u00f3nomos letales denominados \u201cLoitering Munitions<\/em>\u201d (LM). Uno de los aspectos m\u00e1s revolucionarios de las LM, es que otorgan a las peque\u00f1as fracciones, la capacidad de disponer de un sistema port\u00e1til sofisticado, para adquirir y batir un blanco de oportunidad con extrema precisi\u00f3n. Los fabricantes de LM han expresado que, para poder responder a la creciente demanda global, trabajan principalmente en incrementar las capacidades y eficiencia de los sistemas, pero otorg\u00e1ndoles mayor supervivencia frente a las contramedidas del enemigo. Un aspecto interesante es que el mercado demanda no solo los productos hoy disponibles, sino aquellos que muestran mayor avance tecnol\u00f3gico y capacidades, en relaci\u00f3n con su letalidad, alcance, carga \u00fatil y supervivencia, pero conservando siempre la simplicidad de uso.<\/p>\n

\n

WASHINGTON: As the conflict in Ukraine demonstrated the lethal effectiveness of loitering munitions, the makers of the modern weapons said they\u2019re responding to global demand by working to improve their products into more capable and increasingly survivable systems to stay ahead in the market.<\/p>\n

Loitering munitions, colloquially called kamikaze drones or suicide drones, provide small teams of soldiers with single-use small unmanned aerial systems, equipped to track and strike a target. While they have been around for decades, they garnered significant attention during the\u00a02020 Nagorno-Karabakh<\/a>\u00a0conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in which\u00a0both<\/a>\u00a0employed loitering munitions.<\/p>\n

But in interviews with manufacturers of loitering munitions, it is clear that in the wake of Ukraine\u2019s high-profile success, the demand is growing not just for weapons on the market, but the next generation of capabilities. Western customers are looking for loitering drones with more power, increased distance, bigger payloads and advanced technology, while maintaining the ease of use, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe loitering munition market is going to evolve certainly,\u201d Roman Palaria, head of marketing and business development for Israel-based Rafael\u2019s precision tactical weapon systems directorate, told Breaking Defense in June. \u201cI personally believe that it\u2019s a new market that is building up very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loitering munitions vary significantly in sizes and capabilities. Depending on their size, they can linger in an area for a few minutes or several hours, and, depending on their payload, can target personnel or armor. Some are tube-launched, while others have vertical take-off and landing abilities.<\/p>\n

Since Russia\u2019s invasion, the US has shipped more than 800 loitering munitions to the Ukrainians. According the most recent\u00a0fact sheet<\/a>\u00a0from the Pentagon, the shipments have included \u201cmore than\u201d 700 Switchblades from US company AeroVironment and an additional\u00a0121 Phoenix Ghosts, a secretive loitering munition<\/a>\u00a0developed by the US Air Force and AEVEX Aerospace.<\/p>\n

As the conflict continues, Western countries are exploring further purchases. For example, the French Army, Defense News\u00a0reported<\/a>, plans to place a foreign military sales request with the US to buy AeroVironment\u2019s Switchblades. The Pentagon, too, has taken notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cLoitering munitions, I think we\u2019re learning a lot about what they can do and the value that they could have,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Peter Andrysiak, deputy commander of US Army Europe and Africa, in an interview with Breaking Defense in June.<\/p>\n

And there are now close eyes on what loitering munitions can do in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every customer wants bigger, faster, longer,\u201d said Brett Hush, vice president and product line general manager for tactical missile systems at AeroVironment. \u201cBut with bigger, longer, faster, \u2026 there\u2019s this trade off on portability. But what has been happening [is] the technology just keeps getting better in the propulsion system, in the energy storage\u00a0 \u2026 So duration and distance, range that you can go is improving over time. So we\u2019re addressing those desires by customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also interest in payload diversity.\u00a0The director of loitering munition systems at Israeli Aerospace Industries, an Israeli manufacturer whose Harop loitering munitions\u00a0featured<\/a>\u00a0in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, told Breaking Defense that giving soldiers on the battlefield the ability to put different warheads on the drones is another important iteration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that for lower echelons, quadcopters, VTOL [vertical take-off and landing] capabilities is a must have, not a missile,\u201d the IAI official said, speaking with Breaking Defense on the condition of anonymity. \u201cSo that would be more different kinds of warheads [and] the capability to pick and choose and to change, like you\u2019re changing shells in a mortar. That\u2019s the idea, but easy to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

For The US, \u2018Does It Fit In The Conventional Force?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the US military, loitering munitions have primarily been used by special forces. Any observations about the use of loitering munitions in Ukraine may shape how the US would integrate the capabilities into conventional forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we go through this and learn about what\u2019s happening in Ukraine, we\u2019ll figure out what\u2019s the right level to put those things, and where does it fit in the conventional force? Because I think most of the lessons learned and capabilities came out of special operations,\u201d Andrysiak said.<\/p>\n

The Army experimented with Rafael\u2019s new loitering mini-drone,\u00a0Spike Firefly<\/a>, during its Army Expeditionary Warrior experiment earlier this year. At that experiment, infantry squads used the mini-drone in an urban setting, including simulating an attack on a sniper position. Loitering munitions could be effective in urban combat because their ISR capabilities improve soldier\u2019s battlefield awareness, makers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a company enters the urban environment they have normally very limited situational awareness. They don\u2019t know what happens on the streets parallel or just behind the corner,\u201d Rafael\u2019s Palaria said. \u201cIf you detect targets, you can eliminate them before the company encounters them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding Automation, EW Protection And Being Part Of Something Bigger<\/strong><\/p>\n

As industry continues to evolve its loitering munitions offerings, AeroVironment\u2019s Hush said his company wants to add more autonomy to Switchblades, including automatic target recognition and \u201ccooperative engagements,\u201d also known as swarms, adding that swarms are the \u201cnext big wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, he added buyers want to be able to integrate the munitions into air and sea assets, as well as plug them into their battlefield networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want the other elements of that command to be able to see the information and be able to transfer back and forth: \u2018Hey, where\u2019s the target? What\u2019s going on with the target?\u2019 BDA [battlefield damage assessment] information, so you get kind of a battlefield awareness,\u201d Hush said.<\/p>\n

But to provide that type of information or target enemy positions, loitering munitions need to be survivable, meaning able to withstand electronic warfare threats trying to interfere with its communications systems or knock it out of the sky.<\/p>\n

Hush said the two big threats to loitering munitions are GPS jamming and spoofing, and jamming its communications link. Loitering munitions will have to be able to deal with that, with Hush pointing to\u00a0autonomy as a solution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additional survivability challenges depend on the sizes of the munitions. Small ones, which tend to have less range, have \u201cmore inherent\u201d survivability. Larger munitions, which have longer ranges, will be more challenging to make survivable.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurvivability for loitering munitions, for big ones \u2014 especially for long distances \u2014 is quite a challenge,\u201d Palaria said. \u201cIt will be a challenge in the next coming years. It will define how they will look and what [the] market will require.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later added, \u201cif you can survive, you\u2019re relevant. If not? No.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuente: <\/strong>https:\/\/breakingdefense.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los recientes conflictos como el de Nagorno Karabaj y la invasi\u00f3n de Rusia a Ucrania, han demostrado la efectividad y letalidad de los sistemas aut\u00f3nomos… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,2,37],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10484,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions\/10484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}