ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have long been staples in the U.S. military’s arsenal and are increasingly being utilized by more and more militaries around the world. But so-called “micro-drones” – miniaturized UAVs – are beginning to saturate the civilian market, and defense officials worry that they could be adapted by terrorists or other non-state actors to carry out a variety of attacks. Along those lines, British defense firm Selex ES recently introduced a magnetic shield-type of weapon that acts as a countermeasure to ward off and defeat commercial drones. As reported by  Sputnik , the Falcon Shield was in development for three years, making its public debute at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibit in London in mid-September. Officials with Selex ES did not explain the new system’s proprietary technology in much detailed – technology co-developed with military partners and customers – but they did say that drones can be detected...

Click to see the full-size map On September 28, the Egyptian Defense Ministry announced that the Egyptian Air Force coducted  an aerial operation against a group of terrorists who tried to infiltrate throw the Egyptian western border. Egyptian sources suggested that the terrorist were likely ISIS members who tried to enter Egypt from Libya. Egyptian warplanes discovered, tracked and destroyed at least 10 vehicles of the terrorists loaded with weapons, ammo and other smuggled materials during the aerial operation, according to the Egyptian Defense Ministry statement. Moreover, the statement revealed that the decision to launch the operation was taken after the Egyptian Army received critical information that terrorist are preparing to enter Egypt. In the last few months ISIS tried to enter Egypt through the western border several times. ISIS is likely trying to find a foothold in western Egypt as it is very hard for ISIS to supply its cells in the Sinai desert in easte...

ALLAUDDIN KHAN / AP On September 28, 12 Afghan policemen were killed in a suicide attack that targeted a base of the Afghan Police in Maroof district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, according to Afghan sources. The Taliban announced that the suicide bomber was one of its members and took credit for the attack. Zia Durani spokesman for Kandahar province police chief revealed that the suicide bomber was driving a VBIED based on a Humvee vehicle. Durani also announced that “employees” from the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) were among the casualties. 2 Afghan policemen and 16 civilians were injured in the attack were killed in an IED attack in the Afghanistan capital Kabul on September 28 also. The Afghan Police said that the IED was attached to a police vehicle while it was parked outside of a mosque in Kabul. So far, no group has taken responsibility for the attack. In a separated development, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesper...

Maybe  Elon Musk  had a point… The US’s military leaders have agreed on a strategy to guarantee the US military retains its global dominance during the twenty-first century: Connect everything with everything, as  DefenseOne  describes it.  The result?  An unimaginably large cephapoloidal nervous system armed with the world’s most advanced weaponry, and in control of all military equipment belonging to the world’s most powerful army. Sound familiar? It should… A networked military – an extreme take on the “internet of things” – would connect everything from F-35 jets to the Navy’s destroyers to the armor of the tanks crawling over the land to the devices carried by soldiers – every weapon would be connected.  Every weapon, vehicle, and device connected, sharing data, constantly aware of the presence and state of every other node in a truly global network. Of course, the development of these “smart” weapons should unnerve Tesla CEO Elon Musk,...