WEAPON SYSTEMSU.S. Military Plans to Unleash Thousands of Autonomous War Robots Over Next Two Years
The United States military plans to start using thousands of autonomous weapons systems in the next two years in a bid to counter China’s growing power. The so-called Replicator initiative aims to work with defense and other tech companies to produce high volumes of affordable systems for all branches of the military. The scale and scope of the US plan makes clear the future of conflict has changed: the age of warfighting robots is upon us.
The United States military plans to start using thousands of autonomous weapons systems in the next two years in a bid to counter China’s growing power, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced in a speech on Monday.
The so-called Replicator initiative aims to work with defense and other tech companies to produce high volumes of affordable systems for all branches of the military.
Military systems capable of various degrees of independent operation have become increasingly common over the past decade or so. But the scale and scope of the US announcement makes clear the future of conflict has changed: the age of warfighting robots is upon us.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Over the past decade, there has been considerable development of advanced robotic systems for military purposes. Many of these have been based on modifying commercial technology, which itself has become more capable, cheaper and more widely available.
More recently, the focus has shifted onto experimenting with how to best use these in combat. Russia’s war in Ukraine has demonstrated that the technology is ready for real-world deployment.
Loitering munitions, a form of robot air vehicle, have been widely used to find and attack armored vehicles and artillery. Ukrainian naval attack drones have paralyzed Russia’s Black Sea fleet, forcing their crewed warships to stay in port.
Military robots are an idea whose time has come.
Robots Everywhere
In her speech, Hicks talked of a perceived urgent need to change how wars are fought. She declared, in somewhat impenetrable Pentagon-speak, that the new Replicator program would “field attritable autonomous systems at scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18 to 24 months.”
Decoding this, “autonomous” means a robot that can carry out complex military missions without human intervention.
“Attritable” means the robot is cheap enough that it can be placed at risk and lost if the mission is of high priority. Such a robot is not quite designed to be disposable, but it would be reasonably affordable so many can be bought and combat losses replaced.
Finally, “multiple domains” means robots on land, at sea, in the air and in space. In short, robots everywhere for all kinds of tasks.
The Robot Mission
For the US military, Russia is an “acute threat” but China is the “pacing challenge” against which to benchmark its military capabilities.