National Policies for Military Unmanned Systems That Implement Joint Fires Missions
Abstract
Since September 11, 2001, the United States has used unmanned systems extensively around the world. These were primarily unmanned aircraft systems, but in the same years the technologies for ground and maritime (both surface and sub-surface) systems also matured significantly. In the coming years, unmanned systems with tremendous capabilities will be readily available in all of these areas. Technological advances in unmanned systems have expanded existing military capabilities. Despite the adoption of these technologies for military applications, policy guidance for U.S. national decision-makers has lagged the introduction of new capabilities. This thesis examines the current national-level policy guidance that exists for military unmanned systems capable of implementing joint fires missions (both kinetic and non-kinetic), and identifies policy gaps based on the planned capabilities of unmanned systems. This thesis asserts that U.S. policies to constrain autonomy have been developed; however, there are limits to the guidance provided for responses to aggression against U.S. unmanned systems or the use of adversary unmanned systems. It further asserts that policies should be publicly declared to signal U.S. intent, and that this guidance should include ground and maritime unmanned systems, not just airborne, as they are just as likely to affect U.S. international affairs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA624133
Entities
People
- Gautam R. Kharkar
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College