NO STRINGS ATTACHED NEWS THAT MAINSTREAM JUST WON'T COVER.
After being arrested for less than a gram of weed, a brave woman fought her charges all the way to the end and she actually won!
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/woman-fights-charges-weed-wins/
Rarely Has Failure Been Celebrated So Much
Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com,
Rarely has failure been celebrated so much. But it is of little wonder, after all as all asset classes rose in 2019 in spite of slowing growth and flat to declining earnings. In religious debates the question is often asked: Why is there something instead of nothing? In financial markets the corollary question may be easier to answer: Why are markets higher on nothing? The answer of course being primarily: Central bank liquidity.
We’ve discussed the unholy alliance and central bankers being trapped at length, but there is a much more sinister truth lurking beneath, one of system failure suggesting things are not anywhere near as rosy as they may appear.
Indeed, the evidence increasingly suggests the Fed, desperate to fix a leak in the hull, is lightening the whole ship on fire in the process by blowing a historic asset bubble setting markets up to fail and on course for a massive reversion.
Why system failure?
Because 2019 has revealed a fundamental truth: Central banks can’t extract themselves from the monstrosity they have created and made markets dependent upon.
2018 was the only year since the financial crisis that central banks reduced liquidity on a net basis and it blew up in everybody’s face:
All previous moves to neutral resulted in more intervention with the most aggressive move occurring on the heels of the 2015/2016 earnings recession.
In 2018 the Fed moved to finally reduce the size of its balance sheet. It failed miserably. In fact the sequence of communications and actions by the Fed in the past year reveals another fundamental truth: Nothing the Fed says can be trusted, none of their communications have any predictive meaning whatsoever.:
I’ll give you a basic timeline:
July 11, 2018, the St Louis Fed gives everyone a primer on Fed balance sheet reduction:“The Fed has always viewed the remaining increase as temporary, with an eye toward shrinking, or “unwinding,” the balance sheet once economic recovery was complete. The Fed’s long-term plan was to gradually end both policies: aka, normalizing monetary policy.”
Oh yea, normalization, unwinding. Fighting words. But that’s what they promised all along.
The fighting words lasted until mid December 2018.
December 19, 2018: “The Fed currently is allowing $50 billion a month to run off the balance sheet, which is largely a portfolio of bonds the central bank purchased to stimulate the economy during and after the financial crisis. Powell said the process is going well. “I think that the runoff of the balance sheet has been smooth and has served its purpose,” he said during a news conference. “I don’t see us changing that.”
Ha ha. Markets were collapsing and only a few days later Powell switched course:
January 4, 2019: “We don’t believe that our issuance is an important part of the story of the market turbulence that began in the fourth quarter of last year. But, I’ll say again, if we reached a different conclusion, we wouldn’t hesitate to make a change,” he said. “If we came to the view that the balance sheet normalization plan — or any other aspect of normalization — was part of the problem, we wouldn’t hesitate to make a change.”
Suddenly he’s flexible. This is what markets wanted to hear, an admittance that the Fed’s normalization was causing “market turbulence” and stocks soared over 3.5% in just one day on that statement and it marked the beginning of Jay Powell being the market bottom trigger throughout all of 2019.
In March a further rally was prompted when the Fed announced it would end the balance sheet run-off.
March 8, 2019: “The Committee is now well along in our discussions of a plan to conclude balance sheet runoff later this year. Once balance sheet runoff ends, we may, if appropriate, hold the size of the balance sheet constant for a time to allow reserves to very gradually decline to the desired level as other liabilities, such as currency, increase.”
We’ll end QT and then keep the balance sheet constant for a time. Sure. But that’s what markets wanted to hear, and this is what markets got.
Then it was the rate cut carrots that kept markets propelling higher, and this carrot was brought forth every single time markets got in trouble, in May and in August, but then something odd happened. The actual rate cuts announcements were sold. Both the July and September rate cuts were sold prompting the need for ever more aggressive actions and successively more so.
The trigger? The September 16 overnight funding crisis which prompted overnight rates to spike dramatically forcing the Fed to intervene. The leak in the hull.
And now watch the communications and actions, first it was “temporary”, then morphing into ever more aggressive course of actions:
September 20, 2019: ‘The Federal Reserve will keep pumping cash into a vital but obscure corner of U.S. financial markets in coming weeks.
The New York Federal Reserve Bank, which handles the central bank’s interactions with financial markets, said Friday that it will offer daily repurchase, or “repo,” operations of at least $75 billion through Oct. 10. The aim is to maintain the Fed’s key policy rate within its target range. Officials say this week’s spike in rates is not a precursor of the type of underlying troubles that preceded the 2008 market meltdown. The Fed began conducting these operations to calm money markets. Rates on short-term repo agreements had briefly spiked to nearly 10% earlier this week as financial firms scrambled to find short-term funding.”
To calm markets. It didn’t last long. More action was required and in October the Fed went wild:
October 8, 2019: “Powell says the Fed will start expanding its balance sheet ‘soon’ in response to funding issues. “This is not QE. In no sense is this QE”.
Sure.
October 11, 2019: “The Federal Reserve is poised to begin at least a six-month operation to buy about $60bn of Treasury bills per month, as the US central bank seeks to ease cash shortages that caused a recent spike in the overnight cost of borrowing.The announcement on Friday sent three-month bill yields sharply lower, dropping from a high of 1.7 per cent to a low of 1.62 per cent. The size of the operation shocked Wall Street analysts who had expected the central bank to be more conservative.”
October 23, 2019: The Fed is sharply increasing the amount of help it is providing to the financial system. The New York Fed announced it is increasing its temporary overnight repo operations to $120 billion a day from the current $75 billion.
Temporary. Right. It’s so temporary we’ll increase repo by 60%. But why stop there? Even this is not enough apparently. The unholy alliance strikes again. The same week the Trump administration announces a phase one trade deal the Fed announces even more liquidity to come.
December 13, 2019: Fed boosts plan to inject billions into the US economy. The central bank lifted its limit for operations scheduled between December 31 and January 2 to $150 billion from $120 billion, according to a release.
Let’s be crystal here: These actions announced in October changed market dynamics entirely. Volatility was crushed and markets went on a one way street to new highs. The banking sector, having failed to break out of its trading range all year suddenly managed to explode to the upside and disconnecting from the previous yield relationship in the process:
This rally in 2019 and in Q4 in particular is entirely the product of liquidity injections in the forms of rate cuts and balance sheet expansions.
It’s not the economy stupid. It’s the central bank balance sheets...
It’s not based on economic reality, it’s not based on earnings growth, it’s not even based on a trade deal that is opaque and ill-defined without details.
And because of it markets keep disconnecting ever farther from an economic basis. In fact on an economic basis markets have reached record levels not seen since the year 2000. Party like it’s 1999:
The aggregate US market closed at $32 trillion market cap for the first time ever or approximately 149% market cap/GDP. Most notable this valuation milestone was reached amid flat to declining earnings growth and slowing economic growth. pic.twitter.com/PEb4BY0plP
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) December 14, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMarket cap to GDP is now overtly flirting with the 150% level last seen in 1999:
Some will say that’s fine because there are now more international sales reflected in S&P companies. Fine if you want to make that argument, but you have to account for several factors: One is that growth in international is a flat as a pancake and keeps slowing. This week the Bundesbank reduced German GDP growth outlook to 0.6% for 2020 and 1.6% for 2021. The OECD has Japan’s GDP growth outlook pegged at 0.6% for 2020 and 0.7% for 2020.
And the ECB has Europe on a forever 1.x% for years to come:
Lagarde introduces the GDP and inflation outlook for the euro area pic.twitter.com/69TZRfj4IZ
— European Central Bank (@ecb) December 12, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSo if you want to justify markets trading at a 150% market cap to GDP based on international sales go right ahead, but don’t justify it based on solid expanding growth. It’s not there and hence that justification would be a fantasy.
In keeping with the year 2000 theme note we are seeing some of the same internal distortions we saw during the tech bubble as 5 tech components now represent 16.5% of the S&P 500 relative to the rest of the market, same as in 1999:
We’re ending 2019 with key market cap components such as $MSFT and $AAPL massively overbought, technically disconnected, extended and over-owned. These types of extremes have lead to coming pain and reconnects. Take $AAPL as an example seemingly repeating a previous pattern extending far above its quarterly Bollinger band far above its quarterly 15MA
To the extent these moves are driven by global liquidity the Fed may well then have set up the entire market for a massive failure.
In Q4 the Fed has been forced to set on a path of ever increasing liquidity injections with its balance sheet now destined to reach record highs as early as perhaps as the first quarter of 2020.
Be clear: The Fed went from autopilot normalization, to pausing, to increasing temporarily, to increase more and increase ever more. In process they unleashed a massive melt-up in markets stretching everything to extremes. Again.
No, 2019 was a giant system failure. Central banks can’t reduce liquidity or markets fall apart and the process of never letting markets correct is producing valuations across the entire economic spectrum worse than even 2000 as household wealth (concentrated among the top 10%) relative to GDP has reached never before seen levels:
And yet all new market highs are following a familiar historic script:
All new highs are coming on negative divergences. $SPX has reached its trend line apex. The yield curve went from inversion to steepening a process that has preceded recessions every time in the past 50 years. And when these conditions take place we can see that the geometric value line index ($XVG) shows significantly lower readings compared with previous highs as we do now as $XVG, despite new market highs, remains far below the readings of 2018.
All of these conditions suggest markets remain at sizable reversion risk. At the end of December 2018 I talked about bullish technical reconnects to take place in 2019 as a result of deeply oversold conditions. Now a year later we’re seeing some of the same conditions, but to the upside suggesting that we will witness corrective reconnect activity into 2020.
As markets are now dependent on ever expanding liquidity any pausing or reduction in liquidity will have the practical effect of tightening. Without a substantive growth basis to support these historic economic disconnects market reversion risk is increasing by the week.
But be clear: The liquidity avalanche will continue into year end, and, until something breaks, the upside train can continue despite overbought conditions. What’s it mean for investors? I suppose if long stay long until wrong, from our perch it’s sell the rips and buy the dips until the dynamic changes, although the Sell case has not been disproven as of yet as price has not breached the sell zone indicated.
The Fed has now indicated it will not cut rates further in 2020. Based on their track record in the past year such a proclamation has no meaning. Indeed both Powell and new ECB president Lagarde cemented the system failure of 2019 this month: Powell indicated no rate hikes ever unless inflation exceeds either the Fed’s inflation target (which they’ve failed to reach in over 10 years). According to how both the Fed and the ECB measure inflation this seems to imply no rate hikes ever as Lagarde implied no end of QE until just before the ECB will raise rates. So QE forever?
To summarize: We went from “normalization” in the summer for 2018, to the Fed becoming the most interventionist central bank in the world in net liquidity additions with its balance sheet looking to reach record highs in 2020. Temporary repo has become permanent and so have balance sheet expansions and low to negative rates across the globe.
On the heels of the financial crisis we entered the decade with trillion dollar deficits, dropping rates and expanding central bank balance sheets and now we exit the decade the same way with absolutely no conceivable path or plan to ever raise rates again or reduce artificial central bank liquidity. There is no path or plan.
And that is the system failure in a nutshell and it has produced historic distortions in markets. For now investors can party like it’s 1999, but have a plan for when the music stops for, as historic suggests, it can stop suddenly. In 2000 it stopped in March.
* * *
For the latest public analysis please visit NorthmanTrader. To subscribe to our market products please visit Services.
Tyler Durden Sun, 12/15/2019 - 11:25 Tags Business FinanceGreta Apologizes For Execution Comment As People Question Who's Actually 'Ruining Her Childhood'
Greta Thunberg has apologized for recently stating that world leaders should be put "against the wall" if they don't take immediate action on climate change - tweeting that in Swedish, it means to 'hold someone accountable,' as opposed to execution.
... improvise speeches in a second language. But of course I apologise if anyone misunderstood this. I can not enough express the fact that I - as well as the entire school strike movement- are against any possible form of violence. It goes without saying but I say it anyway.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 14, 2019For those living under a rock, the 16-year-old Thunberg has become the face of young environmentalists - updating her 3.6 million Twitter followers as she travels around the world to spread her carefully crafted message of injustice - such as her September speech at the UN general assembly, in which she accused world leaders of 'ruining her childhood and her dreams,' exclaiming "how dare you!"
"It would have been even nicer if you had also reported how friendly and competently you were looked after by our team at your seat in first class." German railway company responds to Greta's tweet posing in "overcrowded" German train. https://t.co/tMMh9OAMJn pic.twitter.com/jYgogaaKDH
— The Greek Analyst (@GreekAnalyst) December 15, 2019And while President Trump was criticized for telling Greta to "Chill" and "work on her Anger Management problem," Thunberg's real abusers are her parents according to many.
this did not happen by itself. adults did this to her. her parents are complicit in and have exacerbated this cult like indoctrination. the poor girl's mom claims greta can "see CO2" a colorless, odorless gas. all is not well in casa del thunburghttps://t.co/G0EhJuC1x8
— el gato malo (@boriquagato) December 15, 2019but they are clearly not alone. they did not get her a yacht to cross the atlantic and put her in front of the UN. they did not elevate her as the perpetually enraged mascot of a cause seeking to deflect real criticism by aiming it at a little girl. these people are monsters. pic.twitter.com/xmIsjwqBpl
— el gato malo (@boriquagato) December 15, 2019sure, this new "face of the movement" is great at reaching and indoctrinating other children into the cause, but what are we really teaching them? that the ends justify the means? that the best way to "win" debate is to stifle it by using an innocent as a human shield?
— el gato malo (@boriquagato) December 15, 2019sure, this new "face of the movement" is great at reaching and indoctrinating other children into the cause, but what are we really teaching them? that the ends justify the means? that the best way to "win" debate is to stifle it by using an innocent as a human shield?
— el gato malo (@boriquagato) December 15, 2019***
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,
Greta Thunberg threatened to put world leaders “against the wall” if they refuse to comply with climate change demands.
Yes, really.
During a speech in Turin, Italy, the teenage climate change activist stated:
“Unfortunately, we probably already know the outcome. World leaders are still trying to run away from their responsibilities but we have to make sure they cannot do that.”
“We will make sure that we put them against the wall and they will have to do their job to protect our futures,” she added.
Greta Thunberg threatens to throw world leaders against the wall unless they do what she wants! pic.twitter.com/nqWKrNBKil
— David Croom - (ツ) (@dailycallout) December 14, 2019The term to put someone “against the wall” has been used by Communists and other authoritarians throughout history to denote assassinating political enemies.
If anyone prominent on the right had used such rhetoric, there’d be a huge outcry with immediate demands for censorship.
Greta, who this week was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, has been elevated into something of a cult leader over the past year thanks to the media’s relentless fawning over her.
As we previously highlighted, Thunberg is being taught to Swedish children as part of a course about “religious knowledge,” with kids being asked to mock her opponents.
Churches in Sweden are now ringing bells in her honor, while last year the Church of Sweden proclaimed Greta to be “Jesus’s Successor.”
Greta also appeared on a giant looming mural in San Francisco appearing precisely as you would expect a cult leader to look.
Tyler Durden Sun, 12/15/2019 - 11:03The Fed Will Buy 40% Of US Treasury Net Issuance In 2020
With the federal deficit running 22% higher during the first ten months of 2019 compared to the same period last year ($800bn vs. 655bn), student loans and other federal programs which increase the Treasury’s overall borrowing are running somewhat lower. Given the latest numbers, Deutsche Bank estimates Treasury’s total 2019 borrowing will come in at around the same level as 2018, at $1.1 trillion. Looking ahead to 2020, the bank projects the deficit will be $1.01 trillion, assuming similar levels of borrowing for federal loan programs as in 2019 and an unchanged Treasury cash balance. Given these figures, Treasury’s borrowing needs will be around $1.08 trillion in 2020.
Looking ahead, Deutsche Bank's Steven Zeng writes that the current auction calendar is well set up to meet Treasury’s 2020 financing needs. Against unchanged coupon auction sizes, the Treasury will raise $830bn in coupon issuance. T-bills will be used to plug the roughly $250bn gap. Bills will represent 23% of next year’s net issuance, just below the 25-33% target the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee has recommended.
So who will fund this third consecutive trillion dollar budget?
Unlike the last three years during which the Fed was tightening financial conditions, keeping POMO, QE and debt monetization in check, and was engaging in Quantitative Tightening, in 2020, Deutsche Bank calculates that the Fed will buy an estimated $420bn Treasuries through open-market operations, or 40% of net issuance (which includes Bills) as it continues implementing its balance sheet policy of building higher level of reserve balances and returning to an all-Treasury portfolio. In coupon securities, DB estimates the Fed will buy $153bn or 18% of net issuance next year (MBS principal payments are assumed to average out to $15 billion per month and 85% of that amount will be reinvested into coupon Treasuries.)
The Fed steps back into the bond market at a crucial time, just as foreign demand for US Treasuries at auction is weakening substantially.
One widely discussed reason for this decline is that the widening of policy rate differential between the Fed and other central banks has increased the hedging cost for dollar assets, diminishing Treasuries’ attractiveness to foreign buyers. Another reason could be the diversifying away from dollar assets by foreign reserve manager. Indeed, Treasury’s TIC data shows that foreign official institutions were net sellers of Treasuries in 2019, which is consistent with the decline in the Fed’s foreign custody holdings.
On the other hand, the growing share of negative-yielding debt in many developed markets seem to continue driving foreign capital into the Treasury market, especially for private investors who according to Zeng do not need to currency hedge. A disinversion of the yield curve could also motivate central banks that have been investing in repo markets to buy more bills and coupons again.
Between the two, foreign private investors are a bigger source of duration demand in Treasury market (their holdings are on average 10-year maturity versus 5 years for foreign official institutions). Looking ahead, Deutsche Bank thinks foreign demand could be more modest but still positive in 2020; should it turn out to be "more negative", expect more "unexpected" repo market fireworks which will allow the Fed to intervene more forcefully in the bond market, soaking up even more of the net supply, all under the guise of "fixing" the repo market.
Tyler Durden Sun, 12/15/2019 - 11:00 Tags Business FinanceThe Trade War Is Over, Long Live The Trade War
Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
Market & Portfolio Positioning Review“The ‘Trade War’ Is Dead…Long Live The ‘Trade War.'”
On Friday, “Phase One” of the “Trade Deal” was agreed to, with the Trump Administration originally stating that “Phase Two” would not begin until after the 2020 election.
Then reality set in.
Since 2018, President Trump has come to understand that if the market declines, a “tweet” about a “trade deal coming” would spark a market rally. Without a “trade deal” to negotiate, there is no catalyst to support asset prices heading into the election. This is why on Friday, Trump immediately declared that “Phase Two” of the trade deal would begin immediately.
Long live the “trade war.”
In our “Macro View” piece we go into much more detail about the “trade deal” and what to expect next. However, from an investment view, the agreement is clearly about two things:
Boosting exports of Agricultural Products; and,
Duing the Dollar.
With the Fed giving up on their mandate to maintain price stability, (they recently stated they will let inflation “run hot,”), the path was cleared for the Trump Administration to due the U.S. dollar (which is inflationary) without worries the Fed will start hiking rates.
This is one of the reasons we have started laying commodity exposure into our portfolios with the recent positions in precious metals and energy. We recently published a thesis “Collecting Tolls On The Energy Express” for our RIAPRO subscribers. (You can download the full report with a FREE 30-Day Trial.)
“This model forecasts the price of MLPI based on changes to the price of XLE and the yield of U.S. Ten-year Treasury Notes. The model below has an R-squared of .76, meaning 76% of the price change of MLPI is attributable to the price changes of energy stocks and Treasury yields. Currently the model shows that MLPI is 20% undervalued (gray bars). The last two times MLPI was undervalued by over 20%, its price rose 49% (2016) and 15% (2018) in the following three months.”
As shown in the chart below, the dollar has broken below both its rising trendline from its previous lows and the 200-dma.
(We cover the dollar and positioning each week for our RIAPRO subscribers because the dollar impacts exports which makes up about 40% of corporate profits.)
Currently, the breakdown is very early in it potential progress. As we saw in June, that breakdown was short-lived before it reversed as foreign dollars continue to poor into USD denominated assets for both safety and higher returns than elsewhere in the world.
We previously discussed this important point in “The Great Cash Hoard Of 2019.”
“As it relates to foreign positioning, it is worth noting that EURODOLLAR positioning has been surging over the last 2-years. This surge corresponds with the surge in dollar-denominated money market assets.
What are Euro-dollars? The term Eurodollar refers to U.S. dollar-denominated deposits at foreign banks, or at the overseas branches, of American banks. Net-long Eurodollar positioning is at an all-time record as foreign banks are cramming money into dollar-denominated assets to get away from negative interest rates abroad.”
Importantly, when positioning in the Eurodollar becomes extremely NET-LONG, as it is currently, the reversal of that positioning has been associated with short- to intermediate corrections in the markets, including outright bear markets.
What could cause such a reversal? A pick up of economic growth, a reversal of negative rates, a realization of over-valuation in domestic markets which starts the decline in asset prices, or the duation of the US Dollar.
A reversal of positioning would spark a virtual spiral, with assets flowing out, which lowers asset prices, leading to more asset outflows. While the bulls are certainly hoping the “cash hoard” will flow into U.S. equities, the reality may be quite different.
Watch the dollar closely.
Santa To Visit Broad & WallAs we head into the last two weeks of the year, and the decade, it is time for Santa to visit “Broad & Wall.” While I expect the markets to try to rally into year end there are a couple of caveats which could derail that optimism.
Currently, “bullish sentiment” and “optimism” is once again extremely lopsided. Currently, investor cash is at extremely low levels, with investors fully allocated to equity risk. This is a sharp reversal from this summer when “everyone” thought a “recession” was near.
Lastly, the markets are back to extremely extended and overbought conditions in the short-term which suggests the majority of the current advance has been made and a correction is needed before a further advance can be made.
With the market currently overbought and more than 7% above the 200-dma, corrections usually come before the next advance ensues.. Such suggests being a little prudent in adding exposure too aggressively and look for weakness to opportunistically position portfolios.
On a monthly basis we see much the same deviation from long-term (3-year) moving averages. Historically, when extensions from the long-term moving average are this extreme, corrections have tended to occur. In most instances that reversion entailed a correction back to the long-term mean.
Currently, our portfolio allocations remain primarily long-biased although we are carrying a slight overweight position in cash, we have also recently added positions to take advantage of a potentially weaker dollar, and a steeper yield curve. We also recently took profits in our Healthcare sector which has gotten grossly extended.
These processes follow our basic rules of portfolio management which you can apply to your portfolio as well to reduce overall volatility risk.
Tighten up stop-loss levels to current support levels for each position.
Hedge portfolios against major market declines.
Take profits in positions that have been big winners
Sell laggards and losers
Raise cash and rebalance portfolios to target weightings.
Notice, nothing in there says “sell everything and go to cash.”
Remember, our job as investors is actually pretty simple – protect our investment capital from short-term destruction so we can play the long-term investment game. Here are our thoughts on this.
Capital preservation
A rate of return sufficient to keep pace with the rate of inflation.
Expectations based on realistic objectives. (The market does not compound at 8%, 6% or 4%)
Higher rates of return require an exponential increase in the underlying risk profile. This tends to not work out well.
You can replace lost capital – but you can’t replace lost time. Time is a precious commodity that you cannot afford to waste.
Portfolios are time-frame specific. If you have a 5-years to retirement but build a portfolio with a 20-year time horizon (taking on more risk) the results will likely be disastrous.
With forward returns likely to be lower and more volatile than what was witnessed over the last decade, the need for a more conservative approach is rising. Controlling risk, reducing emotional investment mistakes and limiting the destruction of investment capital will likely be the real formula for investment success in the coming decade.
Tyler Durden Sun, 12/15/2019 - 10:30 Tags Business FinanceTurkish Military Gets Drones WIth Machine Guns
The Turkish military is about to take delivery of a fleet of 55-lb. drones equipped with a machine gun and 200-rounds of ammunition.
Made by Ankara-based firm Asisguard, the 'Songar' drone can strike a 6" target at roughly 650 feet and has a range of 6.2 miles, and can operate in groups. A newer version is expected to be able to hit targets from over 1,300 miles away. Accoridng to Ayhan Sungar of Asisguard, a swarm of three Songar drones can be operated from a single remote control - with all three firing simultaneously at a target.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8NzyWWqewk?start=27]
Held aloft by eight rotating blades, the drone uses a series of sensors, cameras and lasers to calculate distance, angle and wind speed - along with robotic arms that can help to deliver accurate fire on target with minimal recoil, according to New Scientist.
It is hard for a drone to shoot accurately, partly because of the difficulty of judging range and angle, and partly because the recoil from each shot significantly moves the drone, affecting the aim for the next round.
Songar has two systems to overcome these challenges. One uses sensors, including cameras and a laser rangefinder, to calculate distance, angle and wind speed, and work out where to aim. The second is a set of robot arms that move the machine gun to compensate for the effects of recoil. -New Scientist
While critics such as Robert Bunker of the US Army's Strategic Studies Institute say the drones could end up in the hands of armed insurgents (which they will regardless), Songar says the drones will allow for new tactics, such as laying down suppressive fire while humans or other drones carry out attacks on other targets such as infrastructure or vehicles.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxjZBkryb6M?start=27]
Tyler Durden Sun, 12/15/2019 - 09:55 Tags Technology Internet
![Obama Sends Message, Flynn Exactly [30], [GS] Makes His Move - Episode 2045b](https://i4.ytimg.com/vi/sPXH6bwdlMI/hqdefault.jpg)
![Barr Just Did Something Interesting, [DS] Pushed Out Of The Darkness Into The Light-Episode 2044b](https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/l5WwT4N5Alk/hqdefault.jpg)
