Since the dawn of civilization, humans have been at war with each other, and this does not mean that humans did not fight long before the emergence of agriculture, writing systems, animal husbandry, metalworking and other "civilized" behaviors, as long as there are humans, it means that they used everything in Their power to fight each other.
You could say that war is a measure by which the progress of civilizations can be measured;
In other words, civilization can be measured by studying the tools and behavior of its armies. In the last century, human civilization has changed radically, and these changes have been reflected in the way we fight wars.
By the middle of this century, this will likely change a lot with the accelerating pace of technology and questions about the fate of human societies, and these changes will likely be drastic as well.
In fact, it could turn into a revolution to the point that our ancestors would not recognize it as a "war".
New changes and threatsات
According to a 2020 report by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the biggest threats to national security are no longer nuclear or conventional warfare, but rather electronic warfare, terrorism, foreign influence activities, international cartels, illegal immigration, and natural disasters as the main threats.
By 2050, the growth of distributed systems, quantum computing, 3D printing, cryptocurrency, biotechnology, and climate change is expected to cause an even more dramatic shift.
Because of these emerging changes, it is difficult to predict what the battlefields of the future will look like.
However, examining emerging technologies and changing dynamics allows for some temporary conclusions and generalizations.
Quantum Weapon Race
The occurrence of cyber incidents such as the penetration of US government institutions illustrates the stark reality of electronic warfare.
Since the advent of the Internet, countries around the world have been looking for ways to use it as a weapon against financial markets, computer systems, and facilities in other countries.
Beyond governments and militaries, threats from independent hackers and hacker groups have demonstrated how hackers and “hackers” are capable of causing significant disruption and harm, so it is understandable why governments today are looking to recruit “hackers” to protect critical infrastructure or launch “cyber attacks.”
This situation will change dramatically once quantum computing becomes available. Compared to their "classical" counterparts, quantum computers rely on the superposition and entanglement of particles rather than binary numbers (ones and zeros).
The new devices will be able to compute multiple values simultaneously, allowing them to operate at astounding speeds and at astronomical high numbers.
So any system still running on legacy digital platforms would be weak, and public encryption would be useless against quantum-based cyber intrusions, meaning that people would not be able to trust any data sent or received over the Internet.
This may make many daily activities, such as banking services or even the use of bank debit cards, vulnerable to collapse.
This will likely have implications for cyber warfare as well.
As it is, many governments, such as the United States and China, are in a "quantum arms race" that consists of researching new forms of cryptography and making significant advances in this area before others.
Unless cryptography keeps pace with computing in the field, whoever achieves 'quantum supremacy' first will have a window of opportunity on their hand.
Until his opponents can create new encryption protocols to stop them, whoever achieves supremacy will be able to access anyone else's databases with impunity.
Drones are everywhere
Since the turn of the century, the use of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) has grown exponentially.
The reasons for this shift include reducing risks, improving remote operations and competition between countries, the desire to reduce the risk of casualties and the growth of counter-terrorism operations.
By following this trend, by mid-century, drones could completely replace human-driven vehicles.
There is also significant research into developing supersonic aircraft capable of flying, excelling in air battles and landing without human supervision.
However, human pilots can still be used to oversee large-scale air operations, with self-driving drones serving as "pilots".
Another potential development is the proliferation of small drones, and swarms of these drones can be coordinated using "swarm intelligence" to search for and destroy enemy targets.
The death knell for the tank
For many decades, the mainstay of the modern battlefield has been the MBT main battle tank.
However, since the end of the Cold War, MBT has faced many challenges that indicate its zenith may be nearing its end, and by 2050, the ongoing process of superiority between tanks and anti-tank systems may lead to its obsolescence.
This could lead to the complete abandonment of the MPT in favor of lighter vehicles that have traded tracks in favor of wheels, adjustable tracks or even legs.
Instead of heavy armor, these vehicles will likely rely on radar, AI-enabled situation-awareness software, and active countermeasures that sense incoming threats and neutralize them in advance.
There is no doubt that gasoline engines will be replaced by high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.
Instead of a combat vehicle having 3 or 4 crew members, it can have a single driver, can be operated remotely, or all of the above.
In terms of armament, the more conventional cannon can be replaced by an electromagnetic induction gun (also known as an electromagnetic gun) or a directed energy weapon (also known as a laser).
Some point-defense automatic machine guns may also be useful, and less lethal actions, such as electromagnetic charges, high-pitched sonic blasts, etc., can be effective crowd-control measures.
global soldiers
Those flesh and blood fighters still on the battlefield by 2050 are sure to have mechanized support units to help them with just about everything.
Battlefield robots are a major focal point for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and other developers who want to create machines that can take charge of handling difficult or dangerous operations.
Some possibilities include robots similar to the robot known as "Atlas" developed by Boston Dynamics.
These and other robots are based on the principle of mimicry, in which machines imitate living bodies to achieve a greater range of motion and flexibility.
But perhaps the best way to integrate robots into the battlefield is with the soldiers themselves, as exoskeletons are soon expected to emerge, giving individual soldiers greater strength and endurance.
According to a recent report by the US Department of Defense (DoD), the year 2050 will be the year when “cyborg” soldiers will be the defining feature of the US Armed Forces, and upcoming cyborg technologies are expected to have the greatest impact in areas:
Eye improvement: Future eye implants offer enhanced vision, imaging and situational awareness as soldiers see at other wavelengths (such as infrared), have enhanced night vision capabilities, move more easily, identify targets, and display HUDs ) in their visual field.
Programmed muscle control: Future soldiers could also have sensor networks under the skin built into their bodies that would enhance muscle control by delivering optogenetic stimulation (light pulses).
Hearing improvement: By replacing or modifying the bones of the middle ear and cochlea, soldiers will have a greater range of hearing and protection against hearing loss.
Along with ocular and neural implants, auditory implants can enhance communication and situational awareness.
Neural direct optimization: The ability to graft computer chips directly into the human brain would allow for "brain-machine interaction" (BMI), as well as "brain-to-brain" (BBI) interactions.
In essence, soldiers will be able to communicate directly with autonomous systems and other soldiers, with profound implications for improving command, control, and operations.
conclusions?
While making accurate predictions is never easy, some things never change.
War has been and always will be under human guidance, even if robots dominate the battlefield, they will fight at the command of humans and with human agendas.
Armies will always have to adapt to changing conditions and technologies, especially those that offer new opportunities for chaos and destruction.
Finally, war will never be expected, and all our attempts to predict future developments are likely to encounter limited success. If future militaries make use of artificial intelligence and quantum computing to assess different scenarios and possibilities, the accelerated nature of technological change will create new levels of uncertainty.
The struggle between sword and shield will continue as long as the war continues.
War, in turn, will likely continue for as long as humanity exists, and until we find a way to resolve all our differences peacefully, we will continue to look for better ways to kill one another.