Today, the systems that destroy drones are based on laser-guided rockets. Those rockets deliver fragments around them. And that should destroy drones. The limit is that if a drone flies very close to infrastructure. Those fragments can cause damage to the power lines and other things. Those rockets can also be used against unarmed targets. Like small vehicles and infantry formations. But the drone defense requires new and more effective systems. The drone swarm can involve thousands of drones. And that means there is a possibility that the defense runs out of ammo.
The answer to that problem could be microwave and laser weapons. High-flying drones like MQ-20 “Avenger”. It can carry a laser weapon above the battlefield. The laser weapon can shoot down low-flying drones from above. The idea of that system is based on the idea of a laser and an observation platform that can be quite slow. Can fly above the battlefield.
NKC-135 ALL (Airborne Laser Laboratory)
YAL-1A Airborne Laser in flight with the mirror unstowed.
The Beriev A-60 has quite similar systems. To YAL-1. The Lidar searches the target for the main laser weapon. The weapon can be easily changed, because the system tests different types of lasers.
That system can shoot down or damage most modern aircraft. The platform itself. Can have solar panels. And electric engines. The system would be made using stealth material. These kinds of systems are hard targets because radar has problems finding them. The laser weapon can destroy incoming missiles.
There were plans to create high-flying laser planes in the early 21st century. There were many tests using modified Boeing 747 (YAL-1) and NKC-135 aircraft to carry and use laser weapons against ballistic missiles. Russians created the Beriev A-60 plane for the same purpose. The Beriev is still operational. The problem is that even if those systems cannot destroy ballistic missiles. They can be. A very big threat. To the low-flying satellites.
The high-flying, powerful laser systems can also operate against hypersonic, atmospheric missiles. The laser weapon. That is, airborne at high altitude can operate against both. Drone swarms and low-orbiting satellites. The high-altitude laser systems. They are a threat to the targeting and many other satellites. Those systems can also be used against other aircraft.
Curvity is the new way to control the drone swarms.
"Illustration of robots advancing artificial swarm intelligence inspired by the collective behaviors of birds, fish, and bees."(Rude Baguette, “Curvity Controls Robot Interactions”: Researchers Develop New Framework Allowing Robotic Swarms to Mimic Bird and Fish Group Behaviors)
Drone swarms could be the tool that can make almost everything. The idea is that drones can cooperate and connect their computing capacity when they must make complex decisions. Then the swarm can share missions to individual drones. When we think about robot swarms that can mimic things like bird swarms, those robots must know their position in the swarm. The answer to that question can be curvature or curvity. Rude Baguette tells the next things about curvity.
“A key innovation of the study is the introduction of a new quantity termed “curvity.” This intrinsic charge-like quality allows a robot to curve in response to external forces, guiding its interactions with fellow robots. Each robot is assigned a positive or negative curvity value, which determines its behavior within the swarm. This innovative approach allows for the collective behavior of the swarm to be controlled, whether it involves flocking, flowing, or clustering.” (Rude Baguette, “Curvity Controls Robot Interactions”: Researchers Develop New Framework Allowing Robotic Swarms to Mimic Bird and Fish Group Behaviors)
Assistant Professor Stefano Martiniani from New York University emphasized the potential of this approach: “This curvature drives the collective behavior of the swarm, potentially controlling whether the swarm flocks, flows, or clusters.” Such a model transforms the challenge of controlling swarms from complex programming into a material science issue, opening new avenues for research and application.” (Rude Baguette, “Curvity Controls Robot Interactions”: Researchers Develop New Framework Allowing Robotic Swarms to Mimic Bird and Fish Group Behaviors)
Sharing the system into substructures that mimic galactic groups makes it easier to create programs for robots. Each layer or level acts as one robot.
The system can involve the next type of information.
“You are a robot of robot group 9. Robots 1 and 2 must be ahead of you. And robot 4 must be on the left side of you. Together, you are Robot Swarm 2, and Swarms 1 must be on your side, and Swarms 3 and 4 must be behind you. Together, your place is in layer 3. That layer must be between layer 2 and 4.” Then the system has other algorithms that tell what to do if one drone is lost.
The key question is how the robot can determine its position within the swarm. In this case, the modular structure is the solution. There can be multiple data levels, which makes the data structure operate as a mosaic. Or, rather, we can say that the structure mimics the universe. There are individual drones that are galaxies in galactic clusters. Then those drone clusters form a local cluster. Then, local clusters form a super cluster. And then the superclusters form a global cluster. Those clusters are the drone swarms. The ability to share the groups into subgroups makes it easier to program those drones.
The idea is that the drones can form three or four drone groups. The individual drone knows. What drones are behind it, and what drones are ahead of it? The drone group acts like one drone. And then it must know what drone group is ahead and behind it. Then the drone group must know. Whether it should be above or below some of the other drones. The system can make that quite easily. It can share the drone swarm into layers. And those drones know their own layer. And then they know what drones should be below and what should be above it. Those drones can operate in squares. That can look like randomly changing forms.
"Illustration of the Jiu Tian drone carrier, the world's largest, poised to revolutionize military operations with drone swarms." (Rude Baguette, “This Isn’t a Ship, It’s a Swarm Factory”: China’s Giant Drone Carrier Alarms Military Analysts Worldwide) The super- and probably hypersonic applications of that system can be more effective than this drone mothership.
The Chinese drone carrier can be only the beginning of a new type of independent drone swarm carriers. Basically, every type of system can carry drones. Satellites or ballistic missiles can also carry drone capsules. Or things like cluster bomb units can also carry drones. And that makes those systems versatile for many purposes. Regular cargo planes can drop drone swarms from high altitude.
And things like airships and balloons can also carry capsules that can release drone swarms. A Ukrainian company introduced a small drone boat that carries another drone on its deck. Larger drones can carry more drones than those miniature systems. It’s possible to put quadcopters on the nose of underwater drones and launch those systems underwater. Artificial intelligence gives even small-sized drones the ability to make evasion movements when they detect counterfire.
Drones can also slip into buildings and observe things like computer screens. Basically, the drone can also insert a USB stick into the targeted system and download computer viruses into that system. A logical bomb is a virus that responds to a certain signal. And that can leave the entire area without defense. A drone can also carry things like a Mesh station. That can link all data that travels on the net to the outsider eavesdropper.
"Ukrainian unmanned riverine surface drone Ursula, developed by NoviTechNet, carrying a UAV onboard. 2025. Source: YouTube/Association of Ukrainian Engineers." (https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/20/drone-boat-ursula/)
NASA plans to drop six helicopters to Mars. But the same technology can be used in drone swarm operations. Images: Rude Baguette
Droneswarms can cause lots of damage in the target areas. The optical fiber makes drones immune to the standard ECM systems. But the high-power EMP can destroy those drones’ electronics. The only weakness of the fiber-optical control system is the wire. If some other drone finds that fiber, it can cut it. Or the laser system can also cut the optical fiber that is behind those drones. But the next step is the AI-controlled drone. The AI allows drones to operate independently without outside control. The laser systems, like optical wireless data transportation, also make it possible to create guidance systems that are hard to jam.
But those systems require direct contact with the transmitter. This is why things like pseudosatellites or high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) can be the right tools for delivering drone swarms. The HAPS can itself be a robot airplane, balloon, or airship that drops those drone swarms to areas. The drone itself is a multipurpose tool that can search for missing people and give warnings about things like volcanic eruptions. But those systems can also deliver destruction and fear. The high-speed stealth interceptors that can be manned or unmanned systems can deliver drone swarms into the area. Those kamikaze-drones can search and destroy the anti-aircraft systems and keep their crews busy, when the other systems attack harder targets.
Laser- and microwave-based systems can destroy drone swarms. But those systems must detect drones before they can act. There is always the possibility that drones can travel on the ground or underwater, and then another drone that hits a laser or microwave weapon from behind can destroy those weapons. The power that those systems use should be so high that they destroy the physical components of drone swarms.
The next-generation version of the fully automatized war machines is probably the AI-controlled jet fighter. The AI control can be useful in kamikaze- drone fighters that can be retired fighters that would be scrapped anyway. And that kind of drone is suitable for kamikaze missions. The kamikaze drones can also use sub-missiles against air defense or some other targets in their route.
Still today human pilot wins the AI. But the fact is that AI is under development. The R&D process requires information collected from the tests. And the tests and follow-up data analysis with a multi-professional team where pilots, AI developers, and other technical and military specialists analyze data and then make the next plans and changes in systems.
The major problem with the systems is that they are mechanically repeating. When a human pilot learns the mechanical and frequently repeating moves that target is easy to shoot down. But AI advances. And the success of drones in Ukraine is making it necessary to re-estimate the drones. Even if the drone's primary role is target recognition and fire control. It can equip with missiles.
That forces the air defense to shoot the drone. Small-size quadcopters that drop hand grenades to enemy positions are also effective tools. Those drones can communicate with controllers by using radio systems or they can use laser communication. And laser communication tools can use for target marking and laser sights.
Above: GLSDB
The laser sight is also suitable for laser microphones. And that makes this system a multipurpose tool. They can search for snipers from the roofs. And if those systems are armed, they can be extremely dangerous. Those quadcopters can take out snipers and destroy enemy positions. And that system can also detect enemy vehicles for artillery and aircraft.
The quadcopter can drop from satellites, and if they have satellite-based communication that allows them to locate and attack targets, and observe secured areas. That location is on the other side of the world. The system can try to drop the bomb inside the hatches of missile silos. And that can damage or destroy the rocket inside its silo.
In the future, the SDBs (Small-Diameter Bombs) can be shot against enemy targets from thousands of kilometers away from their targets with pinpoint accuracy. And those systems can terminate even single tanks or other vehicles from another side of the world.
AI is the game changer. The next-generation versions of the Maverick missiles can have fire-and-forget mode. That kind of system is possible to create, by driving the similar guidance system that Javelin missiles use to those old-fashion missiles.
Satellites can also point targets by using lasers. Or they can drop the GPS-controlled drone on the target's roof. And then those drones can aim at the position of the target. Another possibility is that drone sends radio signals for radar-homing missiles. That means drones operate like transponders. That thing can give even naval missiles good accuracy. And it's luck that Russians don't use that technology.
The new tool on the battlefield is Ground-Launched Small-Diameter Bomb or GLSDB. The missile can shoot a small-diameter bomb to 250 kilometers away from the launch site. A similar technology used in GLSDB can install in ICBM missiles. That makes it possible to destroy targets with pinpoint accuracy from thousands of kilometers.
There is the possibility that the conventional glide bombs. That is equipped with heat shields that can drop from orbiting trajectories. Also, modern nuclear weapons can use similar technology. That is used in pinpoint accurate bombs. The JDAM with nuclear detonator already exists. And the most modern nuclear weapons are very small.
General Petraeus predicts that the use of robots become more general. And that means many tactics that are made for military and police work must be re-estimated. In the wrong hands, those tools are extremely dangerous weapons. They can use for searching for things like weapons and in the same way, as soldiers use them, they are suitable for the mafia and other kinds of criminals. So criminal organizations can use small drones as strikes.
Robot aircraft are not a new thing.
Robot aircraft are not a new thing. But independently operating AI-controlled jet fighters are the new thing. Remote-controlled drones used for a long time for a strike, recon, and target missions. There are mainly three types of robot aircraft. The two first are in service or entering service very soon. The third one is just under development.
Cruise missiles are also kamikaze drones. And they should be easy to shoot down. But those weapons are still in use, even if the human pilot should shoot them like in targeting practice. The bomber drone is the only modified cruise missile that drops smart bombs like JDAMs or SDBs to target.
X-47
1) Remote-controlled drones. Those drones are radio-controlled aircraft. That requires time for communication between the drone and its operator. The multi-channel- or laser-based communication systems make those systems a little bit more complicated to jam than in movies.
2) Semituatomatic drones. The killer drones are mainly this type of system. The drone will get flight parameters to some area, and when it recognizes something suspicious it tells that an operator.
Semi-automatic drones can also be manned aircraft where an active radar-based altimeter keeps the right distance to the ground. So the system corrects the errors that the pilot can make.
One version of that kind of system is the aircraft-operating ASAT. The military command center's supercomputers control the missile and the aircraft. There the computer calculates the impact point of the missile and satellite. Then the command center the aircraft's course which makes it possible to hit the satellite at the right point.
Also, things like optical-seeker bombs can have semi-automatic launching systems. The mission downloaded to the weapon. And if the seeker notices a hostile target that system opens fire. The system is similar to face recognition software. And it can be found in Israeli Spice-class glide bombs. Or developers can easily modify those systems for that purpose.
3) Full automatized AI-controlled drones. Those drones are not yet suitable for complicated missions. But R&D work around those systems is going on. That means the game is changing. And those systems are powerful tools. Even if there are many problems with prototypes, the purpose of tests is to collect data for the developers so that they can fix errors in the code and find the problems.
