The future of war

This article provides a riveting insight just how high tech war has already become and how frighteningly sophisticated it is about to become. At the vanguard of this revolution in fighting are, as expected, USA and China, both of whom seem to be preparing for World War III. With America intent upon using India as a counterweight to China (and with India not really having any other high powered ally in its emerging conflict with China), it seems certain that some of our tax dollars will be spent buying these high tech weapons.

Patriots and nationalists out there who think war and fighting can solve anything should read this long and superbly detailed article. Some of the key points made in this piece are:

• The autonomous military vehicles of the future – tanks, drones, robots, etc – may have legs rather than wheels or tracks.
• Human armies seem likely to become obsolete as much of the fighting will be done by machines (who will fight other machines). AI powered robot-soldiers will be fighters of tomorrow.
• Robot-soldiers will come in all sorts of shape and sizes. Some will be the size and shop of dogs and will be sent on scouting missions to assess hidden threats. Others will be as small as insects and will attach themselves to sensitive military equipment. The possibilities seem endless.
• The US is developing hypersonic missiles i.e. missiles which fly at 5x the speed of sound.
• Tomorrow’s bullets will use electronmagnetic force so that they can far exceed the damage done by conventional bullets.
• High energy supersonic lasers which can zap drones and missiles are under development.
• The speed of warfare in the future will be blinding. Hence monitoring and management of war will require heavy of satellite technology and tech grids which can feed information to the war planners/generals. Therefore, jammers which could block enemy satellites will be critical. Secondly, quantum computing – which works much faster than conventional computing – will be essential to have an edge on the enemy.
• To the extent, conventional soldiers will have a role, their bodies will be enhanced by high tech add-ons such as a “third arm” i.e. a exoskeleton arm which can hold a gun (or whatever else you want it to hold) and carry on shooting if need be (whilst the soldier assesses the battlefront using his optically enhanced visor snap).
• China has developed its own stealth fighter jets and put missiles and bombers in a string of islands on the South China Sea thus restricting the US’ ability to protect longstanding allies like Taiwan and Japan. It is a fair bet that China will try to replicate this strategy in the Indian Ocean and seek to encircle India.
• It takes China less than seven years to build a weapon from idea to operational capability. It takes the US 16 years to do the same. Let’s not even ask how long it takes India.
• China has vowed become as strong as the US in AI by 2025 and become the dominant world force by 2030. Vladimir Putin has said that whoever becomes the world leader in AI will rule the world.

In the meantime, back in the ranch in India, we can’t get our military procurement moving as scandal after scandal ensnares India’s defence procurement. You don’t have to be a long term thinker or investor to think through the implications of the above.

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Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.