Armas

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías, ,

In the fast-changing landscape of warfare, the first nation to fully incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into military decision-making will shape the history of the 21st century. Humanity is entering a new era of “agentic warfare”, in which we will see some of the world’s strongest armies beaten by rivals that are better at harnessing AI agents—autonomous intelligent systems that can perform a multitude of tasks.

These AI systems will allow the most technologically advanced armed forces to outthink and outmanoeuvre even very capable opponents by linking a vast military network of sensors, weapons and human decision-makers. They will dramatically increase the speed at which tactical moves can be proposed, and allow battlefield advantages to be acted upon before humans are even able to survey the situation.…  Seguir leyendo »

Blaming a Parent, Again, for Failed Gun Laws

MundoAmérica,

If you’re cheering on the charges brought against Colin Gray, the father of our nation’s latest school shooting suspect, it’s worth asking yourself how, exactly, he broke the law.

His 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, has been charged with opening fire at school on Wednesday, killing four people. The assault-style rifle he was accused of using was reportedly a Christmas gift from his dad.

But the Grays live in Georgia, where giving your son an AR-15-style rifle is not, in itself, a crime. (The laws appear to be stricter about handguns.) Nor does Georgia have a law requiring Mr. Gray to safely lock away his guns.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza seen from the Kfar Aza region of Israel on May 12, 2024. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

Within six months, US President Joe Biden went from categorically refusing to condition aid to Israel to threatening to halt certain weapons deliveries should Israel decide to invade Rafah in southern Gaza without a civilian protection plan in place. Just before his public ultimatum, Biden issued an order to pause a shipment of large bombs to Israel to ‘deliver a message’ to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This change in attitude, while no doubt politically significant, is of no practical consequence to Israel’s warfighting capacity in Gaza. Its significantly weaker foe, Hamas, has lost most of its combat power due to Israeli strikes.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ejercicio iraní con drones en el desierto de Semnan en 2021. Foto: Bahareh Asadi / Student News Agency (Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0)

InternacionalOrden Mundial
Tema

La eficiencia de los regímenes multilaterales de control de exportaciones militares y de doble uso implantados en el siglo XX se ha visto mermada por las redes de tráfico ilícito y las lagunas en los controles de las exportaciones.

Resumen

La información reciente sobre el uso de tecnología occidental en armas empleadas por Rusia ha planteado la cuestión de la eficacia de las sanciones y de los mecanismos de control de las exportaciones implantados entre 1975 y 1995, puesto que el panorama mundial actual es muy distinto al de las últimas décadas del siglo XX. En este documento se analiza la necesidad de atender a la naturaleza de las transacciones que conlleven riesgos, detectar las carencias, proponer la modernización de los controles a las exportaciones mediante políticas de concienciación, actualizar el marco normativo y dotar de los recursos adecuados a los organismos ejecutores nacionales.…  Seguir leyendo »

People leave floral tributes for victims of the knife attack at the Westfield shopping center in Sydney, Australia, on April 16. Steven Saphore/AAP/Reuters

MundoOceanía,

When news broke of a stabbing, and mass killing, at a Sydney shopping mall in which a baby was attacked, right-wing commentators overseas were quick to falsely diagnose the motive.

“Another day. Another terror attack by another Islamist terrorist. Six dead, others seriously injured, including a baby”, tweeted the British right-wing commentator Julia Hartley-Brewer.

But Hartley-Brewer was wrong. And she later acknowledged the post was incorrect.

The motive was not Islamist but an everyday threat for women: gendered violence.

It was “obvious” said the New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb, that now-deceased attacker Joel Cauchi, a diagnosed schizophrenic according to his family, had a specific kind of victim in mind when he entered the beach suburb of Bondi’s busy Westfield shopping center on Saturday.…  Seguir leyendo »

Uso del cuadróptero DJI Mavic 3 por parte de militares ucranianos de la 17ª Brigada de Tanques. Foto: 17th Kostiantyn Pestushko Tank Brigade - Mil.gov.ua (Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0)

EuropaMundoOriente Próximo, , , , ,
Tema

La tecnología y la capacidad de producción del armamento afectan a los recientes conflictos de Ucrania y Gaza.

Resumen

En los recientes conflictos bélicos en Ucrania y Gaza se puede observar la importancia de la explotación tanto de nuevas tecnologías, como del mantenimiento de capacidades militares esenciales, como la reposición de medios, munición y repuestos para enfrentarse con éxito al adversario. Este documento analiza en qué medida la tecnología ha mejorado las capacidades militares en aspectos como la movilidad, el enfrentamiento, la inteligencia y la logística, examinando su empleo, sus ventajas y, en su caso, sus posibles limitaciones.

Análisis

La invasión de Ucrania por la Federación Rusa, el 24 de febrero de 2022, así como los ataques de Hamás sobre Israel, el 7 de octubre de 2023, han mostrado el importante papel, por no decir esencial, desempeñado por algunas tecnologías sobre el resultado de las acciones llevadas a cabo por las partes enfrentadas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, , , ,

Russia’s war on Ukraine will soon enter another winter. And as surely as the seasons roll around, the debates over US provision of military aid to Ukraine are following their own familiar and predictable cycle.

Supplies of HIMARS rocket artillery, Patriot air defence systems, Abrams tanks, cluster munitions and F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv have all followed the same pattern: initial refusal by Washington, followed by resistance to months of lobbying by Ukrainian officials supported by public opinion across the West, eventual hints of a change of view and finally confirmation that Ukraine will receive the weapons.

The latest equipment on the table is the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (also known as ATACMS) — currently at the ‘hints’ stage despite long being recognised as a critical enabler for Ukraine’s efforts to evict its Russian invaders.…  Seguir leyendo »

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un waves from his armoured train in Pyongyang as he leaves for Russia on September 10. KCNA/AP

MundoAsiaEuropa, , , ,

When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia’s Far East region on Tuesday in his grandfather’s armored green train on his way to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, he helped underscore two important facts about Putin’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.

First, Putin has turned what was once a mighty and respected army — and country — into one that is reduced to seeking help from an impoverished state that can hardly feed its own people. It’s a humiliating exercise for a diminished Putin, who vaingloriously compares himself to the 18th century Czar Peter the Great, and not a great look for a deeply tarnished Russia.…  Seguir leyendo »

To See One of A.I.’s Greatest Dangers, Look to the Military

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías,

Rogue artificial intelligence versus humankind is a common theme in science fiction. It could happen, I suppose. But a more imminent threat is human beings versus human beings, with A.I. used as a lethal weapon by both sides. That threat is growing rapidly because there is an international arms race in militarized A.I.

What makes an arms race in artificial intelligence so frightening is that it shrinks the role of human judgment. Chess programs that are instructed to move fast can complete a game against each other in seconds; artificial intelligence systems reading each other’s moves could go from peace to war just as quickly.…  Seguir leyendo »

Las AR-15 ocupan un lugar funesto en la vida estadounidense

MundoAmérica,

Además de las espeluznantes imágenes de las cámaras de seguridad de la persona que mató a seis personas, entre ellas tres niños, en la Escuela Covenant de Nashville la semana pasada, aparecieron algunas imágenes menos publicitadas pero no menos desconcertantes: fotografías, al parecer obtenidas de las redes sociales, de armas de asalto pertenecientes a la atacante.

Las armas estaban adornadas con lemas adolescentes (“fuego del infierno”) y decoradas con calcomanías que podrían haber estado en una patineta: el logotipo de la casa de moda Stüssy, una ilustración azul y roja similar a la obra del artista gráfico conocido como Kaws, un globo granate de procedencia incierta.…  Seguir leyendo »

Polish instructors and Ukrainian soldiers train on Leopard 2 tanks in Swietoszow, Poland on February 13. Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Europa, , , ,

Tens of billions of dollars of weapons have flowed from European and North American countries into Ukraine. Rifles. Bullets. Missiles. Artillery pieces.

At first, those nations insisted that the weapons were “defensive”, designed to help Ukraine fight off a marauding Russian Army that had stormed, unprovoked, across the border.

One year later, as the battered but still potent Russian military prepares for a renewed offensive, the type of weapons heading into Ukraine have changed dramatically. Now, what’s flowing in from the West are armored vehicles, long-range rockets and advanced tanks.

The distinction between offensive and defensive weapons was always a little arbitrary.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Fue acusado de amenazar de muerte a su compañero de apartamento. Al menos siete muertos y un herido en Half Moon Bay, California, el 23 de enero de 2023

Creía que su familia había intentado envenenarlo. Al menos 11 muertos y nueve heridos en Monterey Park, California, el 21 de enero de 2023.

Pensaba que sus compañeros de trabajo conspiraban en su contra. Seis muertos y seis heridos en Chesapeake, Virginia, el 22 de noviembre de 2022.

Estos son detalles condensados de los perfiles de los presuntos autores o autores condenados de más de 150 tiroteos masivos en Estados Unidos.

Él había estado coleccionando armas y blindaje en el sótano.…  Seguir leyendo »

Activistas contrarios a los robots armados se manifestaron ante el ayuntamiento de San Francisco el 5 de diciembre de 2022 para expresar su rechazo a este uso de la tecnología. Shutterstock / Phil Pasquini

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías,

Boston Dynamics, junto con otras empresas del sector de la robótica, han firmado una carta abierta en la que anuncian que no armarán a sus robots y no apoyarán a otras empresas en este propósito. ¿Qué está pasando para llegar a esto?

Robots armados con explosivos en EE UU

A finales de noviembre de 2022 saltó la noticia de que la policía de San Francisco podría emplear robots capaces de matar. Según ellos, “este tipo de robots solo se emplearán en situaciones de extrema peligrosidad, que busquen proteger vidas de inocentes”. Y añadieron que excepcionalmente “las máquinas podrán equiparse con explosivos”.…  Seguir leyendo »

Los analistas occidentales creen que las acusaciones de Rusia son una operación de “falsa bandera” diseñada para trasladar la culpa de cualquier uso de armas de destrucción masiva a Ucrania. Ken Lambert/Seattle Times/EPA

Europa, , , ,

Desde la invasión de Ucrania en febrero, la amenaza de que se utilicen armas de destrucción masiva ha sido una preocupación constante. El debate sobre esta amenaza ha tendido a centrarse en la posibilidad de que Rusia recurra al uso de su arsenal nuclear, algo que han insinuado en varias ocasiones el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin y sus altos cargos.

El 23 de octubre, el ministro de Defensa ruso, Sergei Shoigu, llamó a sus homólogos británico, francés y turco para afirmar que Ucrania estaba planeando utilizar una “bomba sucia”. La afirmación ha sido ampliamente interpretada como una posible operación de “falsa bandera” del Kremlin, que podría indicar que es Rusia la que está planeando desplegar tal arma y culpar a Ucrania.…  Seguir leyendo »

A customer at a gun shop in Sao Joao do Meriti, Brazil, wears a T-shirt with an image of President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018. (Bloomberg News via Getty Images)

MundoAmérica, ,

Whether cocking finger pistols, vowing to put a rifle in every home or working to gut arms controls, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has spent his entire 33-year political career aspiring to be his country’s top gun.

“I want everyone armed”, he berated his cabinet in a 2020 meeting that turned into a viral video. Plagiarizing the National Rifle Association, he added that “a people armed will never be enslaved”.

This is not just political theater. Bolsonaro’s call to arms threatens Brazilian security, civic concord and perhaps democracy itself. The stakes are particularly high now, in the rancorous run-up to the Oct.…  Seguir leyendo »

Nigerian soldiers load a military truck with weapons recovered from bandits in north-central Nigeria on April 21. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images

MundoÁfrica,

The degree of insecurity in Nigeria is unprecedented. In addition to an ongoing terrorist insurgency in the northeastern part of the country—which has seen government troops battling the likes of Boko Haram and an offshoot of the Islamic State—there is widespread farmer-herder violence and banditry in every region of the country. It’s not just external analysts, such as former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell, who are arguing that Nigeria is a failed state. Nigerian public and government officials regularly say as much themselves, and act accordingly.

For instance, the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, threatened earlier this year to hire foreign mercenaries to protect the state after several attacks there.…  Seguir leyendo »

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos arrives for a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the U.K. diplomatic residence in New York City on Sept. 20, 2021. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Europa, , , ,

Dear Jeff Bezos,

I know these are troubling times for you and the 2,667 other members of the world’s billionaire club. According to Forbes, there used to be 2,755 of you, but the world’s current turbulence has relegated 87 of you to the mere ranks of multimillionaires and shaved your collective worth by $400 billion, to $12.7 trillion. Then again, you and your fellow billionaires did spectacularly well during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. You and the other nine men who are the world’s richest people more than doubled your wealth, and the billionaire club gained another member every 26 hours.…  Seguir leyendo »

Un acto a favor de la libre portación de armas, en julio de 2021 en Brasilia.Joédson Alves (EFE)

MundoAmérica, ,

El paroxismo de Jair Bolsonaro por las armas llegó a su culmen la víspera de la pasada festividad del Corpus Christi. Reunido con líderes evangélicos, el presidente brasileño tomó la palabra en el palacio de Gobierno y dijo: “Jesús no compró una pistola solo porque no existían en aquella época”. El afán de Bolsonaro por las armas, y esa idea recurrente de querer “armar al pueblo contra la violencia”, lo han llevado hasta la blasfemia.

Lula da Silva, su competidor en las próximas elecciones que ya aparece como favorito, no perdió tiempo en responderle. “Es imposible que quien diga semejante idiotez diga creer en Dios.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Ukrainian activist carries a drone in western Lviv, Ukraine, on April 1. Aleksey Filippov/AFP via Getty Images

Europa, , , , ,

As the Russian military stalls in Ukraine, the Kremlin is turning to plan B: terror bombardment of civilians, an attempt to carve off parts of eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea coast, and destruction of Ukraine’s civil and industrial infrastructure. Accordingly, Kyiv needs a plan B as well. It needs long-range offensive strike options that can be deployed en masse and regenerate after attrition by Russian air defenses—something that the Ukrainian Air Force, despite its heroic efforts to date, cannot do.

Long-range, low-cost, self-manufactured kamikaze drones—produced and launched from a variety of locations throughout Ukraine’s nearly Texas-sized territory—would be a game-changer.…  Seguir leyendo »