{"id":592360,"date":"2023-09-27T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/inside-americas-plans-for-an-autonomous-ai-powered-military\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T10:00:00","slug":"inside-americas-plans-for-an-autonomous-ai-powered-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-americas-plans-for-an-autonomous-ai-powered-military\/","title":{"rendered":"#Inside America\u2019s plans for an autonomous, AI-powered military"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/news-illo_vm-ap-getty-stock_AI-robots.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The United States is accelerating an effort to revolutionize modern warfare by fielding swarms of self-operating drones and weapons systems. The push will shape the next generation of war and, military leaders hope, give America a leg up on China in the new global arms race.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With the Pentagon\u2019s new Replicator initiative, the U.S. is moving fast toward an ambitious goal: propping up a fleet of legacy ships, aircraft and vehicles with the support of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered weapons, creating a first-of-its-kind class of war <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. It\u2019s also spurring a huge boost across the defense industry, which is tasked with developing and manufacturing the systems.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>For those watching the U.S. defense and security field closely, Replicator was greeted with a sigh of relief \u2014 though it\u2019s also raising a host of concerns related to accountability and the human cost of autonomous warfare.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the same as the transition from crossbows to guns from cavalry to tanks,\u201d said Steve Blank, co-founder of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford. \u201cThousands of these things that are semi-autonomous or autonomous is a major transformation in warfare. Period. All nations will eventually get here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. is hoping that Replicator, designed to field thousands of fully autonomous systems within two years, will get the military ahead of foreign adversaries who are also pursuing this technology, particularly China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the event of a clash over the self-governing island nation of Taiwan, AI-powered drones and aircraft will be vital to countering a larger Chinese military force, especially over contested waters and airspace where Beijing\u2019s mass could overwhelm American forces.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the war in Ukraine has shown just how important drones are. While those deployed in Ukraine and Russia are being guided remotely by human operators, AI-powered ones would significantly boost the capabilities of the forces deploying them by swarming targets.<\/p>\n<p>Replicator also means faster and cheaper military technology. It\u2019s spurring a huge boost across the defense industry, giving smaller defense tech companies a chance to compete for contracts against traditional defense giants.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>If successful, the U.S. will be able to quickly produce these drones for a much cheaper cost than conventional systems, putting the military at a competitive advantage against other rivals.<\/p>\n<p>The only question for defense contractors and war analysts is whether the U.S. can meet the program\u2019s ambitious timeline.<\/p>\n<p>Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks first announced the new initiative in late August and said the goal was to develop these weapon systems in the next 18 to 24 months. She added this month Replicator does not involve new funding or personnel, but rather a steering committee will guide its progress across the entire military.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Eric Pahon, a spokesperson for the Defense Department, said it was mostly a matter of scaling out technology. He admitted there were some challenges with bureaucracy, but said the U.S. has a history of being able to pivot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of this is about cutting the red tape within the department,\u201d Pahon said. \u201cWe have the ability to do these things, but it\u2019s going to take a massive mindset change and somebody who\u2019s able to help kind of cut through the biggest delays that we have in the department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pahon said that Replicator would put the U.S. ahead of China and allow for AI weapons systems to be mass deployed in nearly every field of warfare.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe great thing about these kinds of cheap systems is that we can really easily reprogram them and refit and be really creative,\u201d he said. \u201cI can send an [autonomous] drone to carry a bomb or it can do weather readings or it can do surveillance. I\u2019ve got thousands of them, no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One challenge might be getting all of the technology to talk to each other, Pahon said, but there are plans to invest more heavily in the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-23-105495#:~:text=Joint%20All%2DDomain%20Command%20and,%2C%20sea%2C%20and%20cyber%20domains.\">Joint All-Domain Command and Control<\/a>, a computerized network in the early stages of development.<\/p>\n<p>Over time, Congress will need to step in with more robust funding for the next-generation weaponry and support structure. It\u2019s not clear if AI weapons will end up as an im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te priority in the defense spending bills currently caught up in budget negotiations on Capitol Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Last year\u2019s defense bill included a requirement to enhance warfighting capabilities with AI and report annually through 2025 on progress.<\/p>\n<p>Replicator inherits the original goal of Assault Breaker, a U.S. military program in the 1970s that proposed methods of using swarms of weapons, like long-range smart weapons that divide into tracking submunitions, to counter a larger Soviet Union until reinforcements could arrive.<\/p>\n<p>Assault Breaker 2, similar to its predecessor, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears to have been rolled out in the last decade. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darpa.mil\/attachments\/WalkerHASCIETCStatement28March2019.pdf\">Testimony <\/a>from Steven Walker, then a leading Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in 2019 said the Pentagon was focused on using \u201cemerging technologies\u201d in the strategic initiative.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Recent advancements with machine learning algorithms and cloud technology has expanded what\u2019s possible. AI weapons have become a dominant research topic for the military over fears of China overpowering the U.S., particularly in the maritime domain, after Beijing\u2019s Navy became the largest in the world.<\/p>\n<p>The naval concern sparked the idea that Washington should focus more on smaller tactical units rather than following the tradition of building more large naval ships that are vulnerable to attack in a Taiwan scenario.<\/p>\n<p>The Navy has already reached operational capacity with fully autonomous watercraft with Task Force 59. In the successful exercises, the Navy has worked with AI systems that carry cameras and transmit images to the fleet.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The Army is also pursuing ground-based AI systems and the Air Force has been experimenting with Collaborative Combat Aircraft, a program designed to deploy teams of autonomous systems to work with human-operated fighter jets, which supporters argue will completely change the nature of dogfighting.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force is asking for $6 billion over the next five years for the program, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/usaf-5-8-billion-ccas-five-years-spectral-warfare\/\">according to Air and Space Forces Magazine<\/a>, and plans to integrate the systems into its arsenal by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n<p>A leading company in the development of this technology is ShieldAI, which in 2018 fielded an AI-driven quadcopter, called Nova, to help scan and identify combat areas.<\/p>\n<p>ShieldAI employs software technology called the Hivemind, which it claims as the first and only AI pilot system to ever be deployed in combat.<\/p>\n<p>Hivemind has even operated an F-16 and could feasibly power ships, satellites or submarines. In August,<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shield.ai\/shield-ai-demonstrates-ai-piloted-teaming-v-bats-with-afwerx-transformational-capability-to-be-fielded-in-2024\/\"> ShieldAI completed a successful exercise<\/a> of autonomous craft teaming up through software to accomplish a mission, much like they would in combat.<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Tseng, co-founder of ShieldAI, believes the technology is \u201cmature\u201d enough to make Replicator happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about allocating the resources under the right capabilities and products to drive scale,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Replicator promises to be a boon to smaller defense tech companies like ShieldAI, which are outpacing traditional defense contractors in the AI field.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir business models are built to build those exquisite aircraft,\u201d he said of the industry giants. \u201cWhat you\u2019re talking about is a fundamental shift in the defense industrial base and the operating paradigm toward cheaper, more affordable aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Dynamics and Boeing did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Both Lockheed Martin and General Atomics said they were in position to work with the Pentagon on Replicator.<\/p>\n<p>Defense tech companies have long been calling for a focus on AI weapons and though Replicator is being applauded, they are asking for the Pentagon to do even more as concerns grow about military vulnerability in a clash with China.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/jacob-helberg-issues-an-open-letter-to-the-us-government-co-signed-by-leading-defense-technology-companies-301929140.html\">letter<\/a> to President Biden this month, defense tech firms asked to codify and accelerate Replicator, modernize defense trade laws and regulations and step up investment in AI, among other urgent changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite these important efforts, in too many cases, our fighting forces are equipped with tools decades behind commercial technologies most Americans use daily,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cMost new cars on the road today have more advanced AI than deployed U.S. military vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the defense tech side, companies are not just talk: they say they are ready to meet the demands of Replicator.<\/p>\n<p>Skydio, a signatory of the Biden letter, uses AI for smart drones that can overpower traditional defense systems. Skydio\u2019s president of global government, Mark Valentine<em>, <\/em>said Replicator will shield against electromagnetic defensive technology that can disable drones, mostly because the sheer size of swarms make those defenses moot.<\/p>\n<p>Valentine said to counter growing threats in Beijing and Moscow, the U.S. \u201cmust build smart systems at extraordinary scale, and we must do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recently increased our manufacturing capacity by 10x and are well prepared to answer Replicator\u2019s call,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Valentine also wrote a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skydio.com\/blog\/the-replicator-program-is-right-the-time-for-small-smart-survivable-drone-fleets-is-now\">blog post <\/a>earlier this month highlighting the crucial aspect of achieving cheap, affordable mass through autonomous systems \u2014 but also ensuring they had key capabilities like target tracking and convoy support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe concept of \u2018affordable mass\u2019 has received a lot of attention as of late,\u201d he wrote, but \u201csmart drones are required for effective affordable mass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Utah, Teal Drones is whirring a major factory to life to meet Replicator\u2019s ambitious timeline, said George Matus, its founder and CEO.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur current facility can produce up to a thousand systems a month,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201c As we scale toward that number, we will be able to expand our facility, team and systems.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawab\u00a0 also told The Hill in a statement his company will be able to meet demand and make autonomous drones \u201c in large volumes at the levels of reliability\u201d expected from the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not just drone-producing companies that will benefit and work with Replicator. The U.S. will also need strong defense against enemy autonomous armies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Epirus is a defense company that builds AI-powered systems to counter drones and other unmanned aircraft, using a high-power microwave beam emitter to disable swarms of drones.<\/p>\n<p>Mara Motherway, the chief growth officer at Epirus, said the company was part of a \u201clayered strategy\u201d working in concert with offensive drones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see it as complementary and we\u2019re excited about it,\u201d she said. \u201cAs they start to produce those [we ask if] there is something we might be able to help with that is matched to that aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Replicator, the Pentagon does not aim to phase out legacy aircraft, ships and vehicles, but will seek to complement them on the battlefield. The stakes are high.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Blank, from Stanford, said if Replicator is realized, the U.S. could reverse the last decade of America\u2019s military rivalry with China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will have done to their Navy what they just did to ours,\u201d he said. \u201cNow all of a sudden we made their service obsolete.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/4224631-inside-americas-plans-for-an-autonomous-ai-powered-military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States is accelerating an effort to revolutionize modern warfare by fielding swarms of self-operating drones and weapons systems. The push will shape the next generation of war and, military leaders hope, give America a leg up on China in the new global arms race.\u00a0 With the Pentagon\u2019s new Replicator initiative, the U.S. is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":592361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/news-illo_vm-ap-getty-stock_AI-robots.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[70937,146007,134343,134353,73798,146008,146009,34149,70289,73295],"class_list":["post-592360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-autonomous-weapons","tag-campaign","tag-court-battles","tag-defense","tag-kathleen-hicks","tag-killer-robots","tag-latino","tag-senate","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}