In 2008 in the streets of Ramadii We were using a tool called “Blue Force Tracker” which showed our teams positions (or at least the position of the other units currently running a BFT system on a map and allowed for us to send short messages to each other and let us know what was happening in our area. Now this was a long time ago and the military and even civilian organizations have come leaps and bounds since the time of the massive machines with terrible screens, but at the time it was amazing to me what was being done with technology. We are in a world now where a man less drone can do just as much if not more damage than a squad of humans could do and obtain a metric shit ton of information from flying reconnaissance without ever being detected due to cameras and the advancements and how far those have come. Hell, when Lilley brought his camera through the push it was a shitty handheld Cannon camcorder using mini tapes and now at Savage actual we have 4 GoPros that take up less space, hold more footage and deliver in better quality than his camera ever did. All this to say that since the days of the early GWOT tech has changed leaps and bounds to where we are today.
Let’s travel back to the Blue Force Tracker for a second, this was a great tool when I could get it to work and I appreciated it, but Uber today is more accurate and has in app messaging to the driver you know nothing about, letting you know down to the details of their vehicle and the rating that other riders have given said driver. Looking back 20 years ago this would have been world changing and it has been for the modern world civilians. The invasion of Ukraine began February 22 of 2022 and by May of the same year, Ukraine had utilized “GIS Arta” to help locate and erase around 500 Russian soldiers, their vehicles and all the bullshit in their dump pouches. GIS Arta is an App that utilizes range finders, smart phones drones ad commercial satellite images. This app utilizes the UberStar technology alongside Google Maps, yea the same one you use to stalk Savage Actual HQ. This app asks users to identify the opponents then send those reports to artillery teams who will sort through the information and rain down warheads on foreheads as soon as 30 seconds after the initial report. It uses Starlink, this is Elon Musk’s broadband satellite provider that delivers speeds up to 3x faster than your typical broadband. Before Starlink they were using Viastat which was hacked by Russian Hackers, so the switch to Starlink is because Russian hackers also have a harder time breaking down the transmissions from satellite signal to stop the impending deathclock.
Currently the Cyberwarfare space has gotten heightened again. Imagine you have this awesome miss le defense system that works pretty damn well. Ok, now how do you run said name system? Obviously you can’t put guys on guns to expect them to do the same job as a computer system designed to specifically hunt incoming threats right? So you design and code a program for this system to target those threats. Now this system doesn’t take breaks, there is no shift change, it doesn’t get tired, it doesn’t even ask to steal your Gummy Bears, it’s the perfect watchdog right? Well this is true until an Iranian cyber gang named Handala posts images and threats online saying that they have hacked your system. So are you putting the
pieces together yet? When you have a defense system controlled by a machine, people will find a way to hack said machines even if they do it using an AI function. With the development of AI you don’t even have to be the sweaty dude in a hoody hiding in mom’s basement to become a hacker.
These are just a couple of examples of how the cyber world is affecting the physical battlefields in our current world situations. Imagine the amount of damage that hackers can do if the majority of todays systems from power, to water, to the ways we get our cash are all run on these systems that are able to be hacked. As long as there are programs there will be flaws in the system, even if the system works flawlessly everything has the Death Star vent port weakness. From drones to Apps the battlefield has changed, if you are not willing to change and adapt to this new threat then you should prepare to get fucked by it. The new wave of war is here and we have to learn to blend the old and new to come out on top.
By Jason Miller
cyber warfare AI Drones Battlefield Special forces
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