[Chapter 491: Drone Attacks on Tanks]
At the Butterfly Company's training ground, two teams were spread out on the north and south sides, each operating a drone.
Hawke and Edward followed Campos over to Juan's side.
Juan held the remote controller, flying a low-altitude rotary-wing drone, while Garcia monitored the live footage captured by the drone on a tablet.
The drone hovered low, its multiple rotors spinning rapidly, producing a distinct buzzing noise.
Hawke looked up at the sky and asked, "What's the maximum altitude it can reach?"
"300 meters," Campos explained, understanding the reason for the question. "At higher altitudes, the noise on the ground is noticeably reduced."
He paused briefly before continuing, "This drone model is called the Wolf Spider. It can take off and land vertically, runs on electric power, and is equipped with a small camera that can capture standard video, as well as visible light and infrared thermal imaging."
Hawke nodded slightly, saying, "The only problem is the noise level."
Campos replied, "Military reconnaissance drones are better in that regard. We've contacted manufacturers, but the Pentagon restricts sales, and the cost-effectiveness isn't great."
Hawke understood well; military gear used by the U.S. military is always expensive, regardless of performance.
He then looked at the other side, where a fixed-wing catapult-launched drone hovered. Its noise was much quieter compared to the rotary-wing type.
Campos, who had tested the performance over the past few days, said, "That one is called the Swallow. The Pentagon uses a police version of it in Afghanistan. It's quieter and faster but can't hover and requires a runway for takeoff."
Hawke looked up at the small planes circling above. These were incomparable to drones from a decade later.
Even compared to the small drones being equipped by the U.S. military now, these are behind.
The Pentagon began deploying Global Hawk drones as far back as 2000, with several small drones entering service in recent years.
Currently, the U.S. leads the world in drone technology.
Hawke shifted his gaze back to Campos and asked, "Have you tried suicide attacks?"
This Middle Eastern term was unusual on American soil. Campos was momentarily taken aback before answering, "Not yet. Such tests can't be conducted in Los Angeles."
Hawke noticed a Swallow drone parked by a temporarily built runway. He inspected it; the small plane, less than a meter long, had a camera mounted underneath for filming.
He said, "If we remove the camera, we could probably attach a bomb?"
Campos had already checked and said, "Given the Swallow's payload capacity, it can carry an 80mm mortar shell, and even a 120mm mortar shell for short distances wouldn't be an issue."
The real issue with suicide attacks wasn't the payload weight; even without a mounting rack, you could make a few custom ones.
You could even tape explosives to the drone.
Hawke said, "The only problem is the drone's cost."
Campos agreed, "Exactly. If you calculate it, the amount of cash spent on buying drones could just as well be bundled up and dropped from the sky, which could kill people too."
Hawke suddenly had an idea and asked Campos, "Are these drones restricted from export?"
"Large-scale export is definitely restricted," Campos said nonchalantly. "But breaking them down into parts is okay. I've sent parts through Mexican trade channels to Costa Rica, handing them over to Hurricane Company."
Some things couldn't be done in Los Angeles but were fine in Costa Rica. Hawke instructed, "Inform Bosque to conduct some drone suicide attack tests."
Edward took notes.
Looking at these expensive drones, Hawke recalled the Russia-Ukraine war, where drones completely changed warfare.
Even without mentioning other factors, his armed forces deploying thousands of drones for suicide attacks on a target would be impressive.
Cost was a major consideration.
After thinking for a moment, Hawke told Edward, "Notify the environmental tech company folks to come over."
He looked at Campos, "Each of you hand over a sample drone to the environmental tech folks. Have them reach out to our foreign suppliers."
Edward remembered the reports he'd seen and responded, "The products from that side are high quality and low priced... but can they actually produce such technologically advanced items?"
Hawke said, "As long as the profit is enough, manufacturing isn't a problem. Place an order of 5,000 units each to start."
Future political battles and commercial wars would only intensify, so preparing in advance was necessary.
...
Half an hour later, Henderson, CEO of the West Coast Environmental Technologies Company, arrived.
After hearing Hawke's latest orders, Henderson thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine. I've been to their special electronic market in their zone, and they have the capacity to manufacture."
Hawke said, "Go ahead, but keep it confidential."
Campos sent a few people to assist Henderson in picking up the sample drones.
The explosive device for the drones was easy -- a common 80mm mortar shell widely available in overseas markets.
When scaling up, cost-effectiveness would still be a factor.
---
In Costa Rica, Limon.
The city's law enforcement and security had quietly been contracted by Hurricane Company for several years after Hawke invested in it.
On the surface, the city remained the same, seemingly unchanged.
A boat marked with Coast Guard insignia left the port, deviating from regular shipping lanes to reach a rarely traversed deep-sea area.
Onboard, Bosque stood on the upper deck, watching his subordinates busy at work.
As the boat slowed, a handsome man named James rushed over. "Report: drones are ready!"
Bosque nodded slightly and radioed, "Is the target ship ready?"
The other side replied, "Target ship is set; we've moved to the safety zone."
Bosque ordered James, "Launch the drones."
James went to the front deck and loudly called out, "Drones, take off!"
...
Accompanied by a buzzing sound, two multi-rotor drones took off vertically from the front deck under controller command and flew towards the eastern sea.
One drone carried a real-time transmission camera system.
The other had a retrofitted rack with an 80mm mortar shell attached.
Footage from the first drone was shown live on Bosque's screen.
Then a third rotary drone took off, following the first two toward the eastern sea.
Without satellite support, the control signal was limited to under three kilometers.
Soon, the lead reconnaissance drone reached the designated zone and spotted an old fishing boat.
James shouted, "Target spotted, bearing..."
Bosque immediately ordered, "Attack!"
James shouted, "Drone two, attack!"
The operator locked onto the fishing boat using the reconnaissance drone's footage and commanded the drone to strike.
About 2.5 kilometers out at sea, the second rotary drone lowered altitude, accelerated sharply, and dove at the fishing boat.
The weathered boat was about a dozen meters long, with a cabin that was the most prominent feature.
Drone two crashed into the cabin, its high-explosive 80mm mortar shell detonating.
Smoke and shattered metal and wood scattered and fell into the water.
Through drone one's camera, the destroyed cabin was clearly visible.
James shouted again, "Drone three, attack!"
The operator launched drone three in another suicide attack.
Drone three descended, then charged at the boat's side a few meters above sea level.
Such a civilian fishing boat could not withstand a military-grade explosion.
The blast tore a large hole in the hull, and seawater rushed in.
Shortly after, the fishing boat sank beneath the waves as seen through drone one's footage.
James ordered, "Drone one, return."
Bosque was quite pleased with the test results. After drone one landed, he ordered the entire fleet to return to base.
...
Back at base, James copied drone one's video and made several duplicates.
One was given to the newly formed drone squadron for review,
and another was delivered to Bosque's office.
Bosque recalled the maritime exercise and, thinking of Hawke's recent orders to tighten security, asked, "How many reconnaissance drones are available?"
James answered, "Only twelve are ready immediately," and explained, "Over thirty more are coming from the north, but we lack enough skilled operators. The ones proficient now have strong natural talent... mainly those who used to be good at video games."
"Good at video games?" Bosque, being a veteran, struggled to adjust. "Why would that be an advantage?"
James gestured, "Whether reconnaissance or attack operations, it's very similar to video gaming."
Bosque considered his limited gaming experience and agreed, "Next step, recruit more personnel with military backgrounds and extensive video game experience."
Having witnessed drone reconnaissance and attacks firsthand, Bosque said, "Future small-scale battles might be dramatically changed by drones."
James, who had served as a drone operator during the Afghanistan war, said, "Colonel, I feel it acutely. I operated the Global Hawk, striking Taliban bases remotely without contact. Hundreds of kilometers away, using camera surveillance and satellite communication, targets were identified and destroyed with the push of a button -- like playing a video game on a screen."
Bosque identified a key problem, "Without satellites, our drone control range is too limited."
James had no solution for that. Only a few countries worldwide could launch similar military reconnaissance and communication satellites.
Apart from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the rest could probably be counted on one hand.
Renting Pentagon satellites was unrealistic since they were a private security company.
Bosque intended to report the issue to higher-ups.
Returning to the previous topic, he said, "Set the drones in three shifts to patrol and monitor critical base areas 24/7. Report any suspicious targets immediately."
"Yes, sir."
James left and organized his team accordingly.
...
Minutes later, four quieter drones took off, flying over key nearby roads to monitor passersby.
These drones were paired with Twitter's specialized facial recognition system.
This system was in the final stages of development, relying on Twitter's core algorithms and cloud computing, boasting recognition capabilities surpassing those used by Homeland Security and the FBI.
This technology was Twitter's core business and a vital capability.
Footage captured by drones was automatically fed into the recognition system, linked to Twitter's database for automated identification.
All captured individuals were stored; those appearing frequently or engaging in suspicious behavior would trigger alarms.
Of course, human oversight was still necessary.
---
Ethiopia, near the Sudanese desert.
Andrei stood in the back of a Humvee, binoculars trained on an armored vehicle ahead.
This was a discarded vehicle phased out by Ethiopia.
Though most parts were stripped, the armor shell remained intact, still protective.
Suddenly, a drone swooped into Andrei's view, diving from above and crashing into the armored vehicle's roof.
He heard the explosion rumbling from afar.
Andrei could see the vehicle's roof ripped open and patted the truck bed, signaling, "Go over there."
The Humvee started quickly and arrived at the blast site.
The armored vehicle's roof emitted black smoke, with shattered armor fragments scattered around.
Andrei jumped down, picked up a piece of shattered armor and glanced at it before tossing it aside and climbing atop the damaged vehicle.
Compared to the front armor, the roof was thinner.
He eyed the large hole on top caused by the suicide drone explosion and told the team below, "Film everything, including previous test videos, and send them out."
A cameraman arrived to shoot footage.
Edmund below remarked, "Such attacks are a nightmare for armored units."
Andrei, who had served in the military during installations' infighting, noted the bombed vehicle was an older model BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle.
He reasoned, "Drones have small targets, making them hard to defend against or shoot down, but they can attack from above like opening a can."
Edmund asked, "Should we retrofit other drones with weapons?"
Andrei paused before replying, "Keep all reconnaissance drones intact; other drones should be fitted with mounts to carry weapons and be ready for combat whenever needed."
"Understood," Edmund responded.
Andrei said, "Let's head back. Use drones for patrols and training simultaneously."
After filming the destroyed vehicle, the group ignored the junk and returned to their base at Damakin.
The United Nations Environment Programme, World Food Programme, and African Union's Green Africa plan considered Damakin a key node.
Hurricane Company, hired by both the West Coast Charitable Foundation and United Nations, provided security for the Ethiopian branch of the Green Africa plan.
This plan faced many challenges.
Moving African populations had always been extremely difficult.
---
Los Angeles, Coast Tower.
Hawke received test videos from Limon and Damakin, confirming drones' effectiveness.
Henderson had already left Los Angeles to find suitable, low-cost drone manufacturers.
Raul was accompanying him.
Hawke planned to release online discussions in Southeast Asia about drones penetrating tank and armored vehicle roofs.
This might inspire others.
Soon, low-cost drones combined with plentiful mortar shells or high explosives on the international market would appear in Middle Eastern battlefields.
Guerrillas and so-called terrorists usually lacked tanks and armored vehicles.
Hawke, being a good man, intended to encourage poor groups to test the resistance of main battle tanks like the Merkava and Abrams to low-cost weapons.
He hoped the armor specs of both were accurate.
...
In Limon, Bosque called Hawke about the limited drone flight range issue.
The best solution was satellites.
The U.S. had GPS; the EU had Galileo.
But none of these were accessible.
Hawke recalled another company -- Elon Musk's Starlink.
Maybe Twitter could own its satellite system.
He marked this as a future plan.
He also remembered Musk's company partnering with NASA -- the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX).
...
Hawke called Musk, inviting him to Los Angeles for a meeting.
Musk asked with curiosity, "Haven't we just met? What's on your mind?"
"Developing Mars," Hawke casually replied. "As pioneers for humanity, why not land on Mars together?"
Musk understood, "So you're interested in space business?"
Hawke said, "I have some ideas. Maybe we can collaborate on some space ventures."
Satellite commercial services need funding; with enough money, custom satellites were feasible.
*****
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