Technological advancement has brought unprecedented change in every sphere of human life. The military domain is no exception, with militaries worldwide increasingly engaged in reaping from technological development for strategic and tactical advantages on the battlefield. Worldwide, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army are developing weapons that can operate autonomously. Fully Autonomous Weapons. What has been called `autonomy` in weapon systems is fast emerging. Weapons are gradually designed to function autonomously and reduce the role of humans. The world has already witnessed the deployment of these weapons on the battlefield. In recent years, from the deployment of a Turkish autonomous attack drone in Libya to AI-powered drones by Ukraine and Russia to the use of Israel`s Lavendar’ and ‘Gospel’ systems in Ghaza, LAWs are already on the battleground. This emerging autonomy on the battlefield has raised concerns over its role in warfare.
Peter Asro, spokesperson for the `Campaign to Stop Killer Robots` defines Autonomous weapons as “any system capable of targeting and initiating the use of potentially lethal force without direct human supervision and direct human involvement in lethal decision making”. Human-in-the-loop weapons are those machines which are capable of selecting targets and using force only with human command. Human-on-the-loop weapons are described as machines capable of selecting targets and using force under the control of human operators which can override the machine`s actions. These two categories are considered semi-autonomous weapons systems. Another category is fully autonomous weapons in which human are out of the loop. It is important to note that semi-autonomous weapons can be transformed into autonomous weapons systems given their capability to function autonomously.
Militaries across the globe are rapidly progressing and engaged in a race for dominance in military technologies, including autonomous weapons. Notably, the United States, China, and Russia are leading this technology, along with other countries such as India, Turkey, and South Korea. In recent years, Russia has made significant strides in military technologies, also focusing on increasing the level of autonomy in its weapon systems and decision-making. Russia has invested heavily in the design and application of robotic systems which also includes unmanned aerial vehicles. In the ongoing war, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly used AI-powered drones which can kill without sight.
The US Department of Defence `Unmanned Systems Roadmap: 2007-2032` reveals that the US is seeking to develop more and more autonomous weapons systems. The Pentagon’s recently announced Replicator initiative intends to develop and deploy thousands of LAWS in the military domain in the next few years. The US Navy has already shown an uncrewed gunboat attacking a fake enemy target using live rockets – without direction from a human operator. During military exercises with Cambodia last month, the Chinese army demonstrated the gun-equipped robot dog. China has also developed a new type of war drone which is capable of swiftly multiplying midair. India is also stepping into the race. The Indian army’s forces are inducting swarm drone systems that are said to be operating in tandem with ground forces that can provide significant offensive and defensive edge in the battlefield and warfare. New Delhi has also introduced the Drishti-10 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
AI-equipped LAWS have been central to the national security strategies of many states due to their increased precision, minimum risk, cost efficiency, and operational flexibility. Featured by modern sensor suits and sophisticated computer algorithms, can operate independently and autonomously. States are increasingly involved in integrating autonomous features into weapon systems. Particularly major powers are investing in these technologies and developing autonomous systems. The incorporation of LAWs in national security strategies and their use in warfare comes with genuine risks. It increases the pace and tempo of warfare, a process called ‘battlefield singularity’. It can also heighten the potential of erratic launches, and false alarms and manipulate the early warning systems. The capability of the use of lethal force and autonomy can redefine international relations and cause a tectonic shift in geopolitics. Seeing its precision and pace, it has made nuclear weapons vulnerable by forcing states to pre-delegate to avoid decapitation in times of crisis escalation. The vertical and horizontal proliferation of LAWs is also hard to control, resulting in arms race, strategic instability and technological disparities. Additionally, LAWs can create risks including miscalculations, malfunction, accidents, and near-misses, thus increasing the risk of nuclear war.
Given their risk perception, the UN has declared them politically unacceptable and morally repugnant and called for a legally binding instrument for their prohibition and restriction in tandem with their development for peaceful applications. Although states call for a ban on LAWs and legal actions and support global efforts, seizing the upper hand across fields including AI and autonomous weapons is undermining these efforts. For instance, the Indian normative stance on LAWs is highly duplicitous while advocating for the prohibition and regulation of LAWs on the one hand, and while highly investing in autonomous weapons on the other. The same is the case for the US for which lethal autonomy is central to its current national defense strategy.
In future, there would be a serious risk of deploying these weapons without human control. The next decade will witness more heated competition as both powers plan to allocate more funds for autonomous weapons. Therefore, lethal autonomous weapons systems would have a revolutionary impact on warfare in the coming years. The use of LAWs presents a worrying trend that can change the way wars are fought and cause instability and tensions. The need of the hour is to initiate legally binding multilateral instruments on the prohibition and regulations of the like AI, Drones, killer robots etc. Amid intensified geopolitical tensions, it is highly indispensable that the laws be used in compliance with international humanitarian law. Future treaties should focus on the human role. If not, the development, deployment and proliferation of the LAWs will undermine international security.
