Dr Robert J Bunker

A new C/O Futures, LLC (@CO_Futures_LLC) report is now out: David A. Kuhn et al., The Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Assassination Operation: 27 November 2020—Absard, Iran. 17 March 2021: 69 pp, cofutures.net/post/the-mohse…

📸: Consequence of the extensive use of fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones in Ukraine (2026)

Another world first for Ukraine's drone force: an uncrewed landing craft drops off an armed robot on an enemy-held beach on Kinburn Spit. Not an important mission on it own, but a new capability with big implications for the future of amphibious warfare - story below

Another Ukrainian drone boat success

@LucasADWebber When I first heard this I thought it was a live one!! He put it in his luggage I asked?! As a kid growing up in El Monte, CA my friends family had a pet Raccoon --name Rocky of course-- and as it got older and bigger it got vicious. Tore up his brother pretty good one time.

mood:

My Tactical - Ops - Strategic Weaponized Drones Projections with AI & Swarms 10+ Years Ago APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; Terrorist and Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, and Military Implications. USAWC SSI Aug 2015, apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/…

New research examines how structured activities influence thinking in military settings. This #SWJEssay introduces epistemic devices as mechanisms that support reframing, externalization, and collective reasoning. Based on interviews with 30 personnel and detailed taxonomy of 1,200+ activities, it offers practical insights for defense organizations. smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/14/des…

Why weaponized autonomous AI drones are so deadly: "AI Racing Drone Beats Human Controlled FPV Racing Drones on Aerial Racetrack: An Overlooked ‘AlphaGo Moment’ with Future War Implications." C/O Futures Weaponized Drone Research Note Series. 18 Feb 2026, cofutures.net/post/ai-racing…

En otro episodio de "no es lo mismo llamar al diablo que verlo venir", los Centroafricanos "sacan" a los franceses y los sustituyen por rusos, que ahora devengaron en narcotraficantes, encima de garimpeiros. "La capacidad civilizadora de Rusia" le dicen unos por aquí

What do you think the best translation of "bájale de huevos" is? - "Chill the fuck out" ?

📑“China’s Telecom Forward Base: How Military-Civil Fusion Weaponizes Global Networks” Chinese military-civil fusion tactics have turned much of the world’s telecoms infrastructure into a strategic asset for Beijing. 🇨🇳 Gerald Mako argues that Western governments must treat this as a permanent feature of the security environment. Without coordinated action, this asymmetry will only grow. @CambridgeCAF @Cambridge_Uni #HybridWarfare #PLA #SWJPerspectivepiece smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/14/chi…

📑“Maneuvering to Obsolescence: The Death Ride of the Armor Branch” “Like its horse cavalry antecedent, the U.S. Army’s Armor branch is on a death ride of its own making." In this #SWJEssay, Dr. Amos Fox explains how we got here– and how to pull the Armor community “pull the Armor community out of terminal decline.” @USArmy @Future_of_War @ASU smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/13/man…

The Wagner group, or what's left of it, is now running an opioid ring in Africa wsj.com/world/africa/r…

Can't believe we did this only about 2 1/2 months ago @CO_Futures_LLC -- armored battle robots are coming: "Chinese Robot Beats Human Half Marathon World Record: Ground Combat Implications." C/O Futures Weaponized Drone Research Note Series. 1 May 2026, cofutures.net/post/chinese-r…

"Aunque no existe un censo oficial, el investigador Andrew Chesnut estima que la Santa Muerte reúne a unos 12 millones de devotos, de los cuales el 80 por ciento se encuentra en México, considerado como el nuevo movimiento de más rápido crecimiento." nmas.com.mx/tamaulipas/cul…

@AndrewChesnut1 It's a funny looking dog-- rare breed-- nothing to see here. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Fox on the loose in our neighborhood in broad daylight!

A photo from PMERJ that shows two improvised grenades & a Baofeng UV-82 seized by officers in Rio de Janeiro after arresting two traficantes. Note the improvised grenades have scoring patterns for fragmentation, both w/ slow match fuzes & possible explosive material on bottom.

Abstract: While conventional wisdom suggests small states facing gray zone maritime pressure require external protection or significant force expansion, systematic examination of #Seychelles, #Mauritius, and the #Philippines reveals that resilience depends more on #governance, #legitimacy, and #persistence than firepower. These cases demonstrate six counterintuitive findings: 1⃣law-enforcement primacy outperforms military responses, 2⃣littoral waters matter more than distant EEZs, 3⃣evidence collection functions as operational capability, 4⃣transparency serves as deterrence, persistence trumps resolution, and 5⃣partner support must avoid dependency. For U.S. #SecurityCooperation, these findings suggest prioritizing institutional capacity building over platform transfers and measuring partner independence rather than equipment delivered, producing more resilient partners at lower cost.

“The United States faces the challenge and opportunity of competing with and countering #China’s growing leverage in #Africa through the information space, while protecting the United States and its partners’ interests.” 📘From Ethan Thayer’s “The Digital Scramble for Africa: Understanding Chinese Smart Cities in Africa” #SWJEssay #Africa smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/10/the…

Interesante esta captura de armamento en #Brasil 🇧🇷 Esta arma artesanal parece ser de construccion híbrida entre metal maquinado e impresión 3D. También una buena variedad de granadas, de las cuales una parece ser de construcción artesanal.

‘Cárteles Inc.’, un libro ambicioso, incómodo y político laopinion.com/2026/07/09/car… Una excelente reseña de @CarlosSeoaneN Gracias por los generosos y profundos comentarios que van mucho más allá.