Yes, who has the go, no go code, the free fire grid, zone code that gets searched for all movement?
On an plain text, unencrypted database with a plain text letter of commendation for that project?
Could control code walk out, not just plain text, unencrypted lists and letters of commendations.. on network facing databases?

Re ""thing that identifies enemies and attacks them""
The fun part about that is every other army will be looking up the digital version of Operation Skye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... to bait expensive AI drones into expending its mission load all over wastelands or other optically interesting areas.

Lets hope the AI drones CRM 114 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... holds and the
"... enemy cannot plant false transmissions and fake orders, once the attack orders have been passed and acknowledged, the CRM 114 is to be switched into the receiver circuit. The three code letters of the period are to be set on the alphabet dials of the CRM 114, which will then block any transmissions other than those preceded by the set letters from being fed into the receiver."

Re ""American Exceptionalism" basically means we allow ourselves to commit war crimes with impunity."
The AI option will just add another layer of legal protection to the contractors and US government.
The "computer did it" seems to work wonders with new staff and staff retention.

Re "One of the things that has consistently mystified me about Americans' complacency with drone warfare is the underlying assumption that our current monopoly on drones is going to last forever."
The US still has the bandwidth to each drone to get the huge flow of image data back in real time and the international networks to encrypt commands.
Re "For all intents and purposes, we're already using killbots, and the really important point here is that airborne killbots can be used (for now) with impunity across borders."
A page from UK history during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... and hopes AI drones will allow for the total grid like control over vast areas of the world? Worked well for the UK in the early 1900-30's back with total signals intelligence.....
The problem is the signal flow up and down so an AI will slow that command link tampering issue by not allowing any confusing new commands in while been totally aware of its mission, location and all local movement.
What is been sold on is another U2, D-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... to try and out fly, out smart all other nations for decades.
The problem is how much "smarts" can the US afford to lose in a real crash or super computer projected blind SAM event?
The US mil has always been very hesitant to load up any device with too much technology, better to use a crew or sat control allowing the drone hold 1980's optics any nation can buy and a sat link back to push up all the collected data and a simple weapons system.
The loss of a commanded drone with its design, sat dish, optics and engine is no real loss. The recovery of the AI drone with its total encryption package is a loss that could be difficult to recover from.
Over time 'random' AI flight patterns could become super computer friendly and then its just the need for a big, fast SAM thats never been turned on in the past.
Its a race over decades, who can control a drone to get it to land anywhere or predict an AI flight path in time?
How much randomness can be designed into every unique AI drone for every mission approach, mission and then return?
Nations will use any networks other passive radar like system to look up and track.
What can a AI drone be fooled into expending all its limited payload on? Low cost, fancy emissions and optical fooling artwork in vast empty open areas lure in vast numbers of very complex AI drones?

The good news its more in the press and people are talking of constitutional protections. People can see the US legal digital Berlin Wall in use.
US based brands now have the interesting legal complexity of user data flowing to the US gov in the US.
Options?
Become more of a multinational and move US based big data to Ireland or other parts of the EU?
The NSA and GCHQ needed network access but the brands had to keep the freedom front up. If the press keeps on reporting on US big brands court issues interesting people will just use social media less. The UK was always aware of how any population might become highly sensitised to surveillance and did its best to find ways just to watch.

Re "Haven't we been reading about this for a few years now?"
Considering the decades of early cell phone like devices, pagers, consumer desktop computers, smart phones, personal digital assistant/handheld PC, tablets?
Thats a lot of easy, court free access over many, many years :)
One pubic example found in the press would have been constant pressure on the US from the UK over Ireland/US connections in the 1970-90's over emerging computer and advanced phone use.
Very old ideas that got tested on every US network connection or computer system of interest decades ago.

Re "many times of malware"
Thats the key to the magic of one time bespoke malware that a user/group of interest is fooled into allowing. What can an AV cloud with behavioural analysis do? Would a smart admin see it time time? The ip the data flows out to is unique, the software was user 'installed' and does not match any understood pattern or emerging threat.
If a city, state, county or federal investigation only uses the expensive software one time, its magical vs all domestic and international AV products, cloud and behavioural analysis or internal OS logging.
The trick fails when nation states fails read the instructions about the crafted malware been a one time deal.

It depends AC. If the user opens 10 or 200? tabs in one window for some reason?
Optical bandwidth, 64 bit OS, i7, real gpu, 32 gigs of ram can cover for a browser with slow code issues?
The browser has to be fast to serve ads, keep banking secure, keep the MS branding fresh in the users mind and be web standard compliant.
The days of only working with a MS web site creation application are over but the same MS branding issues will always be the same.
Fast is easy. Ad blocking, security, branding is the ongoing issue for M$. How much will any new computer cost with Windows 10 Pro?
Will ad blocking work? Will ads display at the desktop level if a brand pays enough vs the browser?

With the NSA and other nations providing total network access its hard to then undo the vast parallel construction effort with local malware on one computer to build a multi year case.
The problem for the use of digital and voice product in court is the mentioned "reasonable ex post notice to a computer’s owner" in an open court.
Soon the entire US judicial system and the press would be aware of methods, law enforcement friendly US developed operating systems and antivirus issues, malware providers and their experts in open court testimony.
Everyone of interest would quickly understand privacy and anonymity cannot be found on any US network or device designed or sold that connects to a US network.

Over the years many efforts have been made to support law enforcements own understanding that some networks and phones are 'safe'.
Even local, state and low level federal officials then understand and help propagate the no trapdoor, back door cover stories they saw in a local tech demo
The cover story that some brands, generations or easy to buy products are totally secure is often positioned as random talking points in the national media and on computer related sites.

The UK had many issues with advance phone tracking methods leaking from the court system in the 1970-80's as computer, phone and cell phone technology was been made public.
The US wanted to ensure the same would never happen with its cell phone tracking so it uses IMSI-catchers and light aircraft with dirtbox like units well outside the US court system. Every wifi, cell device and other signals over vast areas per year.

Onion router like networks face the same constant mapping and software/network OS layer issues.
Collect it all is the new cheap, easy way to map entire local communities every year. The real magic is keeping methods away from courts, the press, citizen journalism with walk in FOIA requests at a city or state level or other legal teams.
The hardware paper trail still exists in some city and regional bureaucracies just waiting for a correctly worded in person FOIA request.
The UK was much smarter as it centralized its expert help to law enforcement well beyond the courts, press.

The US and UK became very interested in the photocopier aspect when the UK found a photocopier without a counter or security in an area with its security document vaults. An individual had been using it to make all the copies wanted of secure documents and walking out with the clean copies.
The US and UK then upgraded and further restricted photocopier access policy with counters, educated security staff and by installing cameras in the photocopier units to record what was been copied and by what person.
Very old ideas that had to be rushed out to solve unexpected wider problems.
The tracking of digital files worked in the same way. Baited access to plain text databases to see how staff would respond and what they searched or did not attempt to search.

AC a bit of reading shows Australia has some super computer ambitions and spending.
Quantum computer work has been great for funding.
"Quantum storage breakthrough key to 'unbreakable' encryption A new quantum hard drive jointly developed by researchers in Australia and New Zealand could lead the way to an 'unbreakable' worldwide data encryption network."(January 12, 2015)
http://www.zdnet.com/article/q...
"Powerful quantum computers move a step closer to reality A research team from Australia has pushed quantum computers closer to fruition, but a former NSA director warns that the technology could break encryption" (October 2014)

Re "What do they need this for?"
Small nations usually buy big computer for a few historic reasons, very advanced weapons design or a crypto race.
Australia has given up on its own advance weapon design and fully imports its needs from the USA.
Huge amounts of data collected in Asia for itself and the NSA/GCHQ flows into remote secure collection sites.
That bulk flow might find its way into a dual use civilian military telco system with global suppliers and other nations been very close to internal domestic military networks.
The only way to ensure its mil/gov networks stay secure its to try exotic new crypto it is trying to build all on its own.
For that it needs some free dual use fancy "weather" super computer to test its home brew crypto.
Australia also has to be able to break any encryption it find in Asia outside of the NSA and GCHQ help.
A "weather" super computer sounds just a bit more real than one for banking, agricultural or classic one site academic use.
ie a decades long quantum encryption boondoggle needs testing. Lots of testing, over time and the project is at the really big US computer stage.

Re "I'm sure there are much large potential savings in the defense budget, so why waste our limited time and attention on something so small, proportionally speaking."
The US seems fixated on moving data from satellite to satellite avoiding parts of the world and having to add extensive encryption to its own bespoke satellites. Data flow was the key from Australia, Japan, UK, Slivermine South Africa and other interesting locations.
The NSA and GCHQ seemed to distrust all other methods and hoped to stay ahead of the game buying ever more for the flow of gov/mil data.
The private sector soon learned of this need and set prices to match.
Why the interest? It shows the mind set of the US and UK going back decades vs a Russia or China who could only try to secure their networks or use http://cryptome.org/eyeball/ss...
The High Frontier Broadcast: 02/05/2005 http://www.abc.net.au/4corners...
has a transcript http://www.abc.net.au/4corners... thats suggests some of the US gov spending on communications in the private sector.

1. "Add public keys to major services"
The security services just use their own or find others or find the users.
2. Build better random number generators
Yet strange limits seem to be added to many public and private crypto like products efforts every decade. From banking to what shipped with personal computers.
3. Expand trusted hardware
That gets found and upgraded during while in the safe hands of the trusted global postage or delivery services. (supply-chain interdiction/Tailored Access Operations).
4. Add Merkle trees to the file system
More logging, tracking and understanding of any network or site helps. The main issue is who gets to see the files after an event? Domestic or federal investigators just take it all away to cover parallel construction or another gov/mil access?
Many of the more skilled nations are opting for their own code, designing their own cpu and networking hardware to escape most of the the more direct ways into their own existing networks.