Battlebots, Patton Rommel
from the Times of London
Robots predicted to take over on the battlefield
ROBOTIC power on the battlefield could replace manpower by the year 2030, according to the new Ministry of Defence report.
“Unmanned systems might be used for operations deemed too risky for humans,” it said.
There is no specific reference to America’s proposed “Son of Star Wars” national missile defence system, under which ground-based interceptors would be guided by space-based sensors and satellites to knock out any rogue state’s ballistic missiles.
The report, however, did acknowledge that measures would be needed to counter the whole range of new threats arising in the future. There was no stopping technological advance, and although arms control measures could “significantly reduce risks or make them more predictable” some adversaries would not be party to the international agreements and would not be operating under the same restrictions.
The report says that by 2030 machines would be developed with artificial intelligence. They would be able to gather information about the battlefield and, acting autonomously, make “intelligent judgments” about what action to pursue and what kind of risks were involved.
These machines could “improve our ability to remove personnel from the front line”, the report said. The MoD also envisaged “long-endurance remotely deployed systems” and micro unmanned airborne vehicles over the battlefield.
However, the dramatic advances in technology between now and 2030 would also increase the range of military options that were available to potential enemies.
Vastly superior computers, using quantum processing, would make a “staggering” difference to weapon power.
The report gave a warning that Russia, China, Israel and North Korea were all expected to continue developing their weapon export business, and said that “such sales may lead to a said narrowing of the technological gap between Nato and some potential adversaries”. |
