Erik Lin-Greenberg

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

A drone in Iran, August 2022. Iranian Army / WANA (West Asia News Agency) / Handout

Iranian-built drones now routinely puncture the skies over Kyiv. Elsewhere in Ukraine, Turkish- and American-manufactured drones help Ukrainian forces target Russian troops. These operations demonstrate the growing role of remote-controlled weapons in battle. The conflict also showcases how drone exports have increasingly become an instrument of diplomacy.

With drone use on the rise, states have capitalized on drone exports to increase their global clout. To be sure, this is part of an established trend: governments have long leveraged arms exports as a diplomatic tool. Beyond filling state coffers and defraying research and development costs, arms sales help states advance their foreign policy agendas.…  Seguir leyendo »

This undated satellite image obtained July 29 courtesy of Planet Labs shows what researchers say are missile silos under construction in the Chinese desert. (AFP/Getty Images)

Last week, researchers at the Federation of American Scientists used satellite imagery to uncover more than 100 suspected nuclear missile silos under construction in western China. Days later, private analysts identified new underground facilities at a Chinese nuclear test site using similar satellite images.

These revelations, coming after the discovery of another Chinese missile field in June, leveraged satellite imagery to disclose some of Beijing’s most closely guarded secrets about its nuclear program.

But these images didn’t come from government intelligence agencies. Instead, they were collected using privately operated commercial satellites and analyzed at think tanks — no high-level security clearances required.…  Seguir leyendo »

Chinese media reported on the seizure of a U.S. Navy underwater drone in the South China Sea. Beijing eventually returned the drone. (U.S. Navy/CCTV via Reuters)

Last week, China seized a U.S. Navy drone. The capture signaled Beijing’s displeasure with U.S. reconnaissance in the South China Sea, but avoided endangering U.S. personnel and giving Washington a reason to escalate.

Get used to this. Attacks on remotely controlled vehicles — drones — may become a new currency for coercive diplomacy, enabling nations to challenge rivals without hurting an opponent’s military personnel — and so without risking significant escalation.

So far, states appear to react differently to drones than to manned assets, even though the two are equivalent under international law. Both unmanned and manned military vehicles can freely navigate and fly over international waters and through international airspace.…  Seguir leyendo »

Last week, a CNN crew flying onboard a US Navy patrol plane above the South China Sea recorded China’s military ordering the navy jet to exit a “military alert zone,” shedding light on Beijing’s ongoing attempts to exert administrative control over international airspace and waters. Just two weeks earlier, Philippine’s Defense Secretary publicly expressed concern that Beijing was taking steps to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the contested South China Sea. Chinese officials haven’t ruled out the possibility of establishing a new zone, and new military facilities in the South China Sea could streamline Beijing’s ADIZ enforcement efforts.…  Seguir leyendo »