AUTONOMOUS WEAPONSForce Multipliers: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Ukraine and Gaza Conflicts
The use of Autonomous Weapon Systems has changed the dynamics of warfare in recent times. The rise of Artificial Intelligence has reshaped military power, strategies and decision-making in war. AI is transforming modern combat through greater speed, precision and low-cost deployment.
Autonomous weapons systems (AWS) are changing the nature of modern warfare through AI-enabled decision-making. As per the United States Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, autonomous weapons systems are platforms capable of ‘selecting and engaging targets without further intervention by a human operator’, a definition that anchors the concept of autonomy specifically to the targeting functions.[1] AWS combines artificial intelligence with lethal platforms like loitering munitions, drones, AI-powered surveillance systems, and swarm drones that have capabilities to identify and strike targets with limited human control. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have become testing grounds for AWS, showing how these technologies operate in both high-intensity and asymmetric conflicts.
Autonomous weapons systems are mainly considered in two key respects: how much control humans have over decisions to use lethal force, and how much autonomy the system itself has. AWS are commonly grouped into three categories: ‘human-in-the-loop’, ‘human-on-the-loop’ and ‘human-out-of-the-loop, ‘ depending on the degree of human involvement. Many autonomous systems currently in use fall into the ‘human-on-the-loop’ category; even though they can carry out pre-planned actions involving lethal force, human control can intervene if needed.[2] This classification raises significant International Humanitarian Law concerns regarding accountability, proportionality and compliance.
AWS as Force Multipliers
A Force multiplier is a term used in military doctrine that refers to the capacity of a technology, technique, or organizational arrangement to expand and amplify the combat effectiveness of a given force well beyond its numerical strength alone.[3] The force-multiplication effect of AWS operates across four distinct and interconnected dimensions: speed, persistence, precision and expendability. Speed refers to the capacity of autonomous weapons to execute targeting cycles at machine speed, overcoming the physiological and cognitive delays in human decision-making on the battlefield. Loitering munitions with AI guidance can detect and engage a target in a much shorter time than those controlled by humans. AWS acts faster because it doesn’t get tired or confused as humans do.[4]
