(Newswire.net — February 27, 2019) — We’ve been fortunate enough to avoid a major war on the scale of World Wars I and II since, well, World Wars I and II. There are dozens of armed conflicts going on throughout the world, and the United States still has troops deployed in several countries around the world, but the lack of a full-scale war has made us somewhat complacent. We still picture war in its traditional format, albeit with some upgrades like faster jets and more destructive weapons, and we imagine that it could never affect us.
If we’re going to have a chance of surviving or succeeding in a war in the future, we need to be more aware of what the future of warfare might look like, and prepare countermeasures to deal with those specific threats.
What the Future of Warfare Could Look Like
Why is the future of war so different from the past?
These are just some of the key developments we could experience:
- Electronic warfare. First, we need to consider the development of electronic warfare. There are many different types of electronic warfare to pay attention to, but all of them involve using the electromagnetic spectrum and/or directed energy to control that spectrum to attack an enemy or prevent an attack of theirs. For example, an electromagnetic weapon could feasibly disrupt conventional technologies like radar, or disable civilian assets and resources to prevent communication (or produce chaos).
- Nuclear warfare. The world has had its eye on nuclear weapons ever since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the strength and availability of nuclear weapons have consistently grown. We need to be prudent about the possibility of nuclear warfare in the future, especially with countries like Russia actively flaunting their nuclear capabilities. Nuclear weapons have the power to level entire cities and cause lasting damage to the environment for hundreds, if not thousands of miles depending on the nature and location of the strike.
- Drones and swarms. Major military powers have already made use of drones for some actions, including surveillance and monitoring of contentious areas and attacks on targeted individuals. Single drones are far more maneuverable and stealthier than conventional human forces, which makes them harder to guard against. Plus, in the near future, it may be possible to coordinate multiple drones in a kind of swarm, enabling them to work together and perform much more complex operations.
- Autonomous weaponry. There’s a reason so many technology experts have expressed fears about autonomous weaponry. Robots and weapons that can identify (and hypothetically eliminate) targets on their own may be a massive breakthrough in warfare technology, but this has major implications for civilians on both sides of a given conflict. These technologies are ethically questionable, may be difficult to control, and may be even harder to stop if used against us.
- Blackouts and resource attacks. Today, most of our infrastructure depends on the internet and electricity to run properly. If an unconventional, futuristic attack were to prevent us from accessing these basic utilities, it could disrupt our entire way of life.
- Attacks of manipulation. There’s already evidence to suggest social meddling by outside parties. Interested parties in other countries can use social media to polarize audiences and sway public opinions, ultimately resulting in changing the political power structure in their target state. This is one of the most dangerous types of attacks simply because of how hard it is to detect and how much influence it could have on outcomes in our country.
Why We Need to Prepare
Reading some of these points, they seem like the worries of science fiction—far-off or nonexistent concerns. But the reality is, some of these methods of attack have already been developed, and some are already being used around the world. We need to prepare ourselves for the realities of these attacks so we can establish defenses against them, either by creating countermeasures that resist the effects of the technology or increasing our own resilience.
How to Prepare
Unfortunately, preparation is difficult for most of us. We don’t have access to the resources or technology necessary to prevent or mitigate a large-scale attack, and we aren’t in a position to make a decision on behalf of the defense department. So what can the average person do to increase our collective preparedness for such an attack?
You can start by learning more about these technologies and spreading that knowledge to others. The more we collectively understand about the future of warfare, the better we can guard ourselves against these types of attacks, and the more pressure we can put on decision makers to pursue strategies that minimize their effects. Beyond that, stay educated, and establish some degree of personal protection, such as stores of extra supplies in the event of a utility outage.