US military contractor unveils new exploding drone that creates its own kill list in terrifying footage

Thankfully, most of us have never been to war, but the art of combat is changing significantly, and one new weapon has displayed that in shocking fashion.

Having never seen combat, most people can’t tell you what the latest weapons and gadgets used in warfare actually are.

But occasionally, military contractors show off some of the new tech they have been developing and what it is capable of.

A new video from AeroVironment does just that, and the capabilities of this weapon are rather eerie.

The company unveiled what they are calling the ‘Red Dragon’ a rather terrifying name for a 'one-way attack drone’.

When we say one way, it is essentially a suicide bomb drone, a weapon, that when launched, will locate a target and crash directly into it in an explosive fashion.

The drone can be launched in minutes and travel at speeds of 100 mph(AV)

The company bragged that it only takes about 10 minutes to set up, and they can be manufactured for scale, meaning with enough of them, five a minute can be launched comfortably.

But what makes the weapon so concerning is that it has its own software to make decisions while in the air, reducing the need for an operator to be involved.

The promotional video shows it picking targets while in the air and striking down on them with a speed of up to 100mph.

AeroVironment explained the drones capabilities in more detail and said: “Red Dragon is a fully autonomous capable, software-defined, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed for one-way attack missions in high-threat, GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments.

“Optimized for cross-domain use across air, land, and maritime, the platform is built on AV’s AVACORE shared software-defined architecture, enabling rapid development, scalable production, and tailored mission flexibility.

“The system is capable of autonomous execution of mission objectives without reliance on continuous operator input or satellite navigation. Red Dragon delivers a combination of autonomy, electronic warfare resilience, and tactical flexibility previously unavailable in its class.”

The drone can identifiy targets independently and strike (AV)

However, this raises rather dystopian concerns that the procurers of this weapon will leave life-taking operations in the hands of artificial intelligence rather than humans.

Back in 2024, Craig Martell, the DoD's Chief Digital and AI Officer, explained that the US intends to always have a responsible individual aware of the boundaries of the technology and will responsibly deploy it.

He said: “There will always be a responsible party who understands the boundaries of the technology, who when deploying the technology takes responsibility for deploying that technology.”

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