Today, Wednesday, November 25, the Conference "UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS: Geopolitical, Technological and Legal Dimensions of their Use" (or better known to the world as drones) was successfully held at the Amphitheater of the War Museum. The conference was organized by the Academy of Strategic Analyses within the framework of its activities with a particular interest in Strategy and Security issues.
The conference aimed to present the current and developing EISs and their characteristics, to describe the legal framework for their use and the related issues that arise, and to also present the military and civilian applications of EISs and the prospects for their use in the future, both in the operational environment and in civilian sectors of activity. The aim of the conference was to bring together experts from the military and civilian fields, organizations, services, industry, universities and research centers with EISs.
The conference was organized into three sections with the following general topics:
Military and civilian uses of MES
Technological developments - Research projects for the development of MEES
Fields of application and operational utilization of MEES
The conference was a great success and attracted great interest, with a large audience, mainly from the armed forces and the scientific community of our country. The speakers who took part in the conference were from different disciplines and all recognized in their field.
One of the main speakers was Dr. Spyros Katsoulas with the presentation “The MEES and the Risk of Regularization of Strategy”
Spyros Katsoulas is a Doctor of Strategy at the University of Reading, with thesis title: “The Guardian's Dilemma: The role of the United States in Greek-Turkish relations”. Graduate of the Department of International & European Studies of Panteion University, holder of a master's degree in War Studies from Kings College London and a scholar of the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY). Since 2013, associate researcher at the Institute of International Relations (IRIS) of Panteion University, where he is head of the Military History Group and researcher at the Center for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (KEMMIS). Lecturer in International Relations and Strategy at the National Defense School (NDS) since September 2015. He is also an active member of the Academy of Strategic Analyses.
K. Katsoula, we would like you to tell us a few words about the research you have done in your PhD and how it is connected to today's conference.
The research I have done in my PhD is perhaps connected in a complicated way. My PhD was on the role of the US in Greek-Turkish relations so one could say that my research is based on history. To understand today and also tomorrow where Unmanned Aerial Systems will probably play an important role you need to have a very good knowledge of both history and strategy so I think they are connected.
In light of the recent events in Paris and in Syria in general, how do you think drones can be used in the fight against ISIS and terrorism in general? As you mentioned at the beginning of your speech, in addition to the downing of the Russian aircraft by Turkey, there was also the downing of a Russian unmanned aircraft on the Turkish-Syrian border that was not as well known to the world. Of course, although it is Russian-made, Moscow denies that it is its own. Do you know of any cases where either ISIS or its enemies have used drones in their war against each other?
It is certainly very difficult to combat terrorism using a single tactical means. What I also wanted to point out in my presentation today is that a comprehensive strategy is required, part of which is of course the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, drones. What happens when there is such an innovation, such a technological discovery, sooner or later there is a counterweight. Specifically, ISIS has already found ways to offset the technological advantage of Western powers. For example, to effectively use a drone to collect information on the ground, you still need informants and people who will provide you with the appropriate information, either locals or people you trust. So what usually happens is that ISIS targets these people first and not directly at the drone, and thus the information link is broken. An English expression that is often used for drones is “they mow the lawn”. Imagine, for example, being in New York and trying to find a taxi but it doesn't have a sign on it, it's not yellow, it's probably all the same. This is covered by drones, they see, for example, where vehicles make frequent stops, a taxi would make frequent stops on the subway and generally in central points. So to compensate, for example, terrorists stop frequent stops and gatherings in suspicious places, so they combat the technological advantage of the West.
At the moment in Greece we know that there are various MSPs in the research and development phase. Are you aware of any specific research that is currently underway and perhaps there are some important developments that the public should know about?
I don't know exactly, but later in the conference, Vellerofontis, the Greek UAV program of the Naval Academy, will be presented. What is important is the correct strategic utilization of this tactical means.
Unmanned Aerial Systems are not fully automatic but always have a pilot responsible for their flight. What technological, theoretical and practical knowledge does such a pilot need?
It is not one operator but a team of about 180 people and in addition to the good use of such systems, it is important to have cooperation that connects what images they receive, what information and what decisions need to be made. This tactical level must be linked to the operational and strategic. This is the most important and not the self-evident knowledge that the operator will have
SecNews would like to thank Mr. Spyros Katsoulas for his time and the interesting interview he gave on our site.
For anyone who did not have the opportunity to attend the Conference, the minutes will be published on the ASA website https://www.acastran.org/
Here you can see a part of Mr. Katsoulas' interview:
[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugc3bkg2ozM&feature=youtu.be”]
