Why the Army Needs a Robotics and Autonomous
Systems Strategy
U.S. military dominance is no longer guaranteed as near-peer competitors
have quietly worked to close the gap while the United States was preoc
-
cupied with two low-intensity wars in the Middle East. Recognizing that
warghters might no longer have a guaranteed technological advantage,
the Department of Defense (DoD) is in the midst of an ambitious modern
-
ization program that seeks to ensure superiority in the future battlespace.
e ird Oset Strategy, a successor to the Second Oset Strategy of
the Cold War (which saw the development of the Army’s current big-ve
platforms to counter numerically superior Soviet conventional forces) is
focused on leveraging emerging and disruptive technologies. In partic
-
ular, human–machine teaming, also referred to as manned–unmanned
teaming, will integrate people with autonomous systems or articial intel
-
ligence to enhance decisionmaking speed. is will enable U.S. forces to
react faster than future threats and achieve decision dominance.
Near-peer competitors have taken concerted action to develop their in
-
digenous robotics and autonomous systems. Russian President Vladimir
Putin has called on their defense industry to create “autonomous robot
-
ic complexes.” e Russian Military Industrial Committee, responsible
for Russian military industrial policy, has set a goal to replace 30 percent
of all military technology with RAS by 2025, developing several models
of remotely operated combat vehicles designed for a variety of missions,
including direct combat.
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China has also made major strides in RAS by
studying the U.S. deployment of unmanned systems and the ird O
-
set Strategy. e U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission
concluded that Chinese military thinkers posit that autonomous systems
are contributing to an ongoing revolution in military aairs that “relies on
long-range, precise, smart, stealthy and unmanned weapons platforms.”
China’s intent is for robotics and autonomous systems, particularly arti
-
cial intelligence, to allow it to dominate the next generation of “intelligen-
tized” warfare.
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Integrating Army Robotics
and Autonomous Systems
to Fight and Win
JULY 2017
ILW SPOTLIGHT 17-2
PUBLISHED BY THE INSTITUTE OF LAND WARFARE
at the association of the united states army
www.ausa.org
ISSUE
The Army requires a roadmap for the in-
tegration of Robotics and Autonomous
Systems (RAS).
spotlight SCOPE
• TheArmypublisheditsrsteverRAS
Strategy in March 2017.
• ItdescribestheArmy’svisionfor
integrating robotics and autonomous
systemsoverthenearterm(2017–
2020),mid-term(2021–2030)and
farterm(2031–2040).
INSIGHTS
• TheRASStrategyprioritizesinvest-
mentsovertime,enablingtheArmy
tomaintainovermatchandwinina
complexworld.
• Robotics and Autonomous Systems
can contribute to the realization of
vecapabilityobjectives:
– increasingsituationalawareness;
– lighteningSoldierload;
– sustainingtheforce;
– facilitatingmovementand
maneuver;and
– protecting the force.
• The Army has more than a dozen ro-
botic programs of record and emerg-
ing requirements.
• The Army and its industry partners
need to continue to take actions that
demonstrate immediate capability of
RAS,reducefutureriskandprovide
interimsolutionstoArmyWarghting
Challenges.
