Assassination Drone Warfare

Could Secret Miniature Drone Technologies Take Down Rogue Governments?

In the not-to-distant future, bug-eyed assassins and their cyber-drone cousins could swarm against command and control targets, including the leaders of rogue governments.

December 18, 2011

This page was last updated 01/21/2012 04:25:31 AM -0000

(STARpod.org) -- The merging of cybernetic control and micro-electro-mechanical control systems has opened up a radical new means of attacking human military command and control assets:

Here come the 21st Century Bug-Eyed Assassins.

In the not-too-distant future, it may become acceptable to drop clouds of miniature robotic assassins -- swarms of insect-like remote controllable machines -- against enemy targets.

The potential for remote controlled covert assassinations was first brought to our attention by an Iranian scientist.

The source, who was familiar with the cyborg bugs, (and cannot be identified for reasons of personal security), suggested using the robotic insects as lethal delivery systems, to bypass conventional methods of protection afforded to high-level individuals at the command and control level of an adversary's government.

The idea is to equip the insects to deliver a stinging blow, while under the remote control of an operator at a distance (perhaps even on the other side of the world, similar to the deadly strikes now conducted by Predator drones).

It has been reported that scientists in Israel have expressed an interest in the cyborg technology.

Remote controllable insects and their artificial robotic imitations are currently being promoted as covert spies. The development of tiny electronic control systems and miniature cameras has opened up a world of stealthy insect drones capable of slipping unobserved into military command and control centers. By adding the capability of delivering a lethal dose of toxin, the bug-eyed spies could be converted into robotic assassins. DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is currently working on various technologies needed to eventually create bug-eyed-assassins, although that is not their stated goal.

The current situation to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb is a perfect example of the quagmire politicians and military leaders face in determining who is a valid command and control target. Various contradictory statements have confounded the interpretation of whether or not Iranian leaders and nuclear scientists are being covertly targeted by Israeli and US intelligence.

The use of swarms of robotic insects might offer a means of targeting persons of interest thought to be involved in covert nuclear programs.

The idea of using biologically based machines, like remote controllable insects, in the effort to stop nuclear proliferation, is hardly new.

The Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute has proposed using remote controlled cyborg cockroaches as sensor platforms to seek out nuclear weapons and materials.

They cite the advantages of the American cockroach:

"Roaches typically live for more than a year after reaching adulthood and they unusually tolerant to noxious environments. Roaches have a somehow large specific payload capacity compared to other insects. A particular advantage of the long life span of the American roaches could even allow us early adult surgery in case that some insect hardware interfaces are needed throughout the platform lifetime."

Remote controlled insects come in a variety of forms.

In the United States, research into cyborg machine-insect hybrids has been sponsored by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (also known as the home of some of America's top "mad scientists," due to the exotic nature of the research).

DARPA's Hybrid Insect project, called HI-MEMS, is focused on improved control of insect locomotion.

MEMS are "micro-electro-mechanical-systems," the hardware used to control the insect's motion.

To create a viable technology for covert action, the DARPA program looked at placing the micro-mechanical control systems inside of the insects.

Safely protected inside of biological tissue growth, the MEMS device navigates and controls the motion of the insect using Global Positioning Satellite and radio frequencies, as well as visual and ultrasonic cues.

There are several methods to affect the insect's mechanical behavior.

Muscles and neurons may be electrically stimulated. Biological responses may be induced to affect behavior, by simulating various optical, auditory, or olfactory cues.

According to DARPA, "The realization of cyborgs with most of the machine component inside the insect body will provide stealthy robots that use muscle actuators which have been developed over millions of years of evolution."

Unlike precision attacks against hard targets, swarms of robotic assassins could be targeted directly against those individuals on the ground involved in threatening operations. In combination with a rapid-deployment space-based delivery system, robotic armies could be deployed across the globe to target forces attacking defenseless civilians on the street. By overwhelming the response capability of conventional forces, thousands of insect-sized machines or even real biological creatures modified by micro-electronics could revolutionize urban warfare.

Should the United States develop robotic micro-scale assassins? Share your opinion with us below.

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Copyright (c) 2011 by STARstream Research / STARpod.org -- All rights reserved. Image credit: DARPA.mil