AeroVironment Red Dragon autonomous attack drone announced
AeroVironment announced the Red Dragon, a lightweight one-way attack drone with autonomous target selection capabilities designed for rapid deployment. The drone can independently select and strike targets, raising concerns about autonomous lethal decision-making without human control.
What happened
AeroVironment presented the Red Dragon in a video on its YouTube channel, describing it as the first in a new line of one-way attack drones. The drone weighs 20 kilograms, can reach speeds of 160 km/h, has a range of nearly 400 kilometers, and requires only 10 minutes to set up and launch.
According to AeroVironment, once launched, the Red Dragon's AVACORE software acts as the drone's brain, managing all systems. The SPOTR-Edge perception system functions as the drone's intelligent eyes, using artificial intelligence to independently locate and identify targets. After selecting a target, the drone transitions to a diving bombardment phase and strikes the target like a projectile.
Reported impact
The company stated that this autonomous and intelligent weapon is ready for mass production. Military personnel would be able to launch up to five drones per minute from a small launcher, and the system can carry up to 10 kilograms of explosives and strike targets on land, in the air, and at sea.
Index analysis
The Red Dragon's autonomous target selection capability raises concerns about lethal autonomous weapons. The drone can independently select and strike targets without human control over individual targeting decisions, effectively removing life-and-death decisions from human consideration.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.