Robotics are changing the character of war and the not too distant future will see the clash of robot units animated by artificial intelligence (AI) but commanded by humans.
U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, painted this remarkable picture at a recent talk before the non-profit U.S. Naval Institute defense forum in Washington D.C. This inevitable shift towards intelligent fighting machines is part of a fundamental change in the character of modern warfare now on the rise.
Milley said the world is in the midst of this fundamental change as can be seen with countries beginning to field laser (directed energy) weapons, hypersonic missiles and delivery systems and autonomous systems.
"I would argue that today (we) are in the middle of a fundamental change in the character of war," said Milley.
"The nature of war is probably not going to change, but the character of war does change and it changes frequently."
This new form of warfare has to be adopted by the United States Armed Forces if it's to maintain the global military dominance it currently enjoys. Milley revealed his vision for the roles of the military's armed services in light of new technologies.
"It is conceivable, theoretically conceivable that in some point in the future you could have entire tank units without crews, or entire squadrons without pilots, ships or carrier strike groups without sailors," he explained.
"Not say it's going to happen (but) it's theoretically possible. So robotics is coming on and it's going to have a military application in the not very distant future," he said.
Milley used the example of precision weapons as to how quickly technology can change warfare and spread worldwide.
"Now they're almost ubiquitous," he pointed out.
Milley said adversary countries like Iran used suicide aerial drones and missiles to attack two major Saudi Arabian oil production facilities in 2019.
At the start of the 1990s, precision weapons were almost the exclusive domain of the U.S. military. Global leaps in technology have given other countries the same capabilities, forcing the U.S. to up its game to maintain a battlefield edge.
In the near future, robotics will have a profound impact on the U.S. armed forces in organization, doctrine and training, according to Milley. He also said the military has it eye on "five or 10 (other) rapidly approaching technologies."
China will be the adversary the U.S. will likely face in a future clash of robots. Milley admitted China is the key adversary the U.S. sees itself facing in the future battlefield.
"They are developing an exceptionally strong military that is going to be capable in space and cyber, on the sea, land and air," said Milley about the Chinese.
"They have a very deliberate plan and a vision of the future. It's very calibrated and they know the interim objectives that they're trying to meet with their intent.
"Their intent is to essentially match the United States, military capability and capacity by call it the mid 2030-ish timeframe, 2035. And they would like to not only match but to exceed is to dominate us, to be able to beat us in armed conflict by the mid-century."
All this means the U.S. needs to remain strong economically, diplomatically and militarily to maintain credible deterrence, Milley emphasized. It also means maintaining strong alliances with like-minded allies in NATO and the Indo-Pacific region.
