Ukraine said it took a Russian position using just drones and ground robots.
Zelenskyy said it was a wartime first, and no Ukrainian infantry was involved.
He said robots have done over 22,000 missions in three months, keeping many soldiers from harm.
The thing I fear is that this just becomes a ridiculously futile war of resource attrition. It all comes down to who has more metals and chips and armaments to keep throwing at the other’s pools of the same until one gives up. What a waste…
…But then again, writing this, I realize that’s almost already how they treat human soldiers so…what will change, I wonder?
Exactly. We’re already there with which side has more human resources. Meanwhile asymmetric warfare is an escalation of technology and the resources to produce them. Sure, you can tip the balance of power on the battlefield with very clever use of resources, but it’s ultimately a contest of who is willing to dump the most into the conflict.
It could also be argued that technological warfare in a global economy makes resource blockades even more important. Nobody is 100% reliant on their homeland resources anymore. To effectively siege your opponent, you have to cut off everything that can fuel their ability to make war. That can be a huge perimeter in some cases.
What will change?
It’s easier to convince young people to hump soldiers into their partners than it is to create more rare earth elements.