In March 2026, it was reported that the Portuguese Army tested cursor munitions, also known as loitering munitions or "attack drones," during the Strong Impact 2026 exercise, held at the Santa Margarida Military Camp in Constância, with the participation of forces from NATO countries. According to the information released, these systems were developed within the scope of the "Robotics and Autonomous Systems" project, foreseen in the Military Programming Law, in collaboration with the Portuguese company UAVision. The operational logic presented is to search, observe, and only then attack, allowing the operator to monitor the situation in real time, choose the moment to employ force and, in principle, abort or redirect the attack (Cardoso, 2026). This case should not be treated as an anomaly or a mere technological curiosity. It is a Portuguese example of a broader transformation of contemporary warfare: the convergence of robotics, sensors, artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, smart munitions, and increasingly accelerated decision-making processes. The problem lies not only in the existence of a new weapon, but also in the gradual alteration of the relationship between the soldier, the target, the political command, the defense industry, and the decision to use lethal force.
