All war is horrific, but some aspects of war are more horrific than others. The death toll of Syria's civil war was estimated last winter at 470,000, each a singular tragedy. Yet it's often particular weapons, used on particular targets, that cause international condemnation. When the State Department announced on Monday that the United States was suspending efforts to work with Russia on a ceasefire in Syria, the State Department listed in particular the targeting of civilians and aid convoys as the reason for the halt.
China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), China's foremost military electronics company, has announced that its scientists have tested a quantum radar to the range of 100km, beating out known American and German competition by 500%. This is a significant claim to make, as a quantum radar would theoretically be able to detect stealth aircraft at long ranges.
Robots, too, can be bad drivers. As the world prepares for the coming future of driverless cars, there are bound to be a few accidents. Launched this summer, a trial of PostBus driverless shuttles in Sion, Switzerland was expected to continue through October 2017. Instead, one of the two shuttles hit a parked van earlier this week, sending the whole trial into a screeching halt.
Runways are a hassle. Long, flat strips of unobstructed land are work to defend at the best of times, and can't always be found in rugged terrain or on small islands. Yet having a fixed-wing plane fly air support is useful, because plane bodies are faster and much more efficient than helicopters. What's the Marine Corps to do?
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