re: Let's talk about military spending

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unmanned systems

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And haven't hit on this issue in the thread (maybe I missed it ) - but this will have the most significant impact going forward into conflicts - not necessarily in the near-term (other than the proven descendants of the Predator and things like that), but certainly by mid-century - any conflict between sophisticated combatants will see robots of all shapes and sizes involved in all areas - R&S, mobility support, fires - dare I say it, maneuver - and it will be seen as a good thing (saving soldier lives), but will ultimately allow conflicts in the first place because of lower acute risk profile coupled with a high yield politically for a winner.

Now, when nations fight - even with robots - civilians will bear the brunt of the suffering - so that circles right back to GT23's very valid point about a large standing U.S. military facilitating foreign entanglements for political (and economic) gain.