Page 25 - ADT SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

TACTICAL TURN  LAND

ARMED FORCES numerous other equipment.

AIM TO GO BIG WITH In view of these developments, defence establishments now consider
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI and Robotics technologies as having the potential to trigger a
new AI-triggered Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), especially as
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) continue to achieve
 JAY MENON increasing levels of sophistication and capability. Numerous fields of
action are being identified by defence industries and establishments
Land forces are confronted with an emerging for the use of AI militarily.
challenge that, in terms of its size and nature,
is without precedence. With threats changing NATO ADOPTS AI
their form and identity at an exacerbating pace,
armies are scurrying to modernise their military
equipment and capacities at the strategic, Last October, NATO unveiled its new strategy regarding the future
operational, and tactical level. use of AI, acknowledging the fact that AI is altering the state of
defence and security globally and is likely to lead to more techno-
At present, there is an explosion in high-tech logically advanced threats to the organisation.
possibilities in the military domain: UAVs are
becoming more sophisticated, the military use The four-pronged strategy involves providing a foundation for
of artificial intelligence (AI) is widely debated allies and member states to develop their AI capabilities, improve
within institutions, and the development of new interoperability among members, taking into account security policy
weapon systems such as hypersonic missiles considerations, and identify possible threats made by hostile actors
and drone swarms is increasing. Among these against the Alliance through the use of AI. NATO has stated it will
cutting-edge technologies, AI draws a lot of aim to cooperate intensively with the private sector and academia
attention among armed forces for its military to develop and deploy AI technology.
utility.
Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, commander of the United States XVIII
Increasing levels of autonomy are being seen Airborne Corps recently noted that the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort
in systems which are already fielded or are Bragg, North Carolina, has been a leader in the adoption of AI. The
under development, ranging from systems command has taken an approach to its adoption, that includes
capable of autonomously performing their building a cultural mindset, data literacy, data governance and
own search, detect, evaluation, track, engage infrastructure that includes cloud computing, he said.
and kill assessment functions, fire-and-forget
munitions, loitering torpedoes, and intelligent Also, the corps uses AI in quarterly exercises for target detection.
anti-submarine or anti-tank mines, among Those exercises include personnel from all six of the military services,
ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | 25