ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

For the first time, the United States Army has begun the testing of  a ground-based robot that can shoot  at specified targets with a .50-caliber top-mounted machine gun. It’s a self-driving vehicle called the “Wingman”. It’s part of a broader program and initiative to develop other armed robotic vehicles just like it. According to reports on its development, it is currently being tested to measure its ability to accurately identify and shoot its targets. According to a statement from the U.S. Army itself, the Wingman is best described as an autonomous remote engagement system that can help reduce the time that it usually takes to identify targets. It does this by relying on a “vision-based automatic target detection and user-specified target selection,” the Army report noted. They already began tests involving the Wingman some time last year, but the Army  now hopes to conduct even more exercises  with other types of heavily armed ground robots quite soon....

The Russians have offered militants a safe passage out of the Syrian region of Eastern Ghouta [near Damascus] suggesting them to leave with their families and personal weapons through a humanitarian corridor out of the region. The proposal comes amid a rapidly developing military operation of the Syrian Army in the area, which has already led to a situation when joint forces of Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam, Faylaq al-Rahman and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have lost over 36% of the pocket.  MORE DETAILS “The Russian Reconciliation Center guarantees the immunity of all rebel fighters who take the decision to leave Eastern Ghouta with personal weapons and together with their families,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement adding that vehicles would “be provided, and the entire route will be guarded.” While the statement provided no details to what area militants would be evacuated, most likely, the proposed evacuation route will provide militants an opportunity to reach t...

On March 5, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Iran to discuss the 2015 nuclear agreement with President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other top officials. However, the French diplomat immediately showed an official stance of his country accusing Teheran of “destabilizing” the Middle East hinting to the Iranian missile program as well as the country’s involvement in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The Iranian foreign minister responded saying that it is the US and its allies who are resnponsible for the current crisis in the region. “The United States and other countries that have turned our region into a gunpowder depot by selling arms must stop such actions,” Zarif said, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. Zarif cointuned in his twitter account: 5 Mar Javad Zarif ✔ @JZarif In meeting today, told France FM: EU should compel US to abide by JCPOA rather than trying to appease it by repeating its ext...

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, center, meeting in Pyongyang, the capital, on Monday, with South Korean envoys. Credit North Korean Central News Agency, via European Pressphoto Agency North Korea and South Korea have ageed to hold a summit meeting between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in on the country’s border in late April. According to the South, the sides have also agreed to estabsih a “hotline” between their leaders. The first phone conversation will reportedly take place before the summit. “The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize,” the South Korean president’s office said in a statement. “It made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed.” “The North expressed its willingness to hold a heartfelt dialogue with the United States on the issues of denuclearization and normalizing relations with the United States,” the statement said. “It made i...