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Development of weapons and equipment in the fourth industrial revolution (Part 1)
Development of weapons and equipment in the fourth industrial revolution (Part 1)
5/11/18
Under the impact of the 4th industrial revolution, major powers have been taking advantage of its core technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data to develop smart, high-precision weapons. This is a new move which could change forms and modes of operations and draw a lot of attention from the public.
A breakthrough in developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)
The application of AI and IoT has opened up a new era in developing military equipment without the human control. Notably, in recent years, the world has continuously witnessed the development of UAV. UAVs not only play the reconnaissance role as designed but are “smartized” and equipped with precision-guided weapons, thus becoming the effective reconnaissance and attack tools which have been continuously used in recent military operations. The latest invention has been X-47B stealth bomber – the first unmanned combat aerial vehicle by America. It is equipped with the most advanced stealth technologies in both aerodynamic design and material. X-47B is also equipped with the system of AI and capable of self-flying while its flight path is programmed and all its operations are supervised by a land command centre. Moreover, being installed with the modern electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensor and radar systems, this type of aircraft is capable of opening its lens to establish land maps and forwarding the target order to land firepower units. The biggest difference between X-47B and other unmanned aerial vehicles is that it is able to operate completely independently under compute programs without remote manned control.
A part from the progress in developing unmanned reconnaissance, combat single aerial vehicles, there have been studies on the use of UAVs as a pack in operations. At Zhuhai Aviation Exhibition recently, China has left a strong impression on the prospect of developing this type of aircraft. At the Exhibition, tens of UAVs flew in formation created and controlled by a computer network and succeeded in hunting down and destroying the target together. This is a really new advance in applying AI to automation of command and control during operations. In response to the developments in UVAs and their advanced, effective features, the militaries of countries have made a lot of changes in the structure of their air forces to make it relevant to new types of warfare in the future. According to various information sources, the U.S. Department of Defence established an unmanned aircraft regiment to take the F-16 fighter regiment’s place while Singapore founded the UAV Command.
The increased use of military robots during operations
A robot is an automatic machine created by human beings and controlled by a certain program, performing one or many functions instead of men to liberate them from strenuous, dangerous, poisonous, difficult jobs. Nowadays, all over the world, robots become more and more popular with various models, types, and functions. According to types of operation, there are three types of robots, namely manned ones, completely automatic ones, and AI ones. In the military, robots are used in different services, corps and specialities on land, in the air, and in water and capable of performing the tasks of combat, reconnaissance, chemical defence, and transportation. Therefore, in recent years, robots play an increasingly important role in military operations. Experts believe that “robotization” is an ideal development trend that helps save soldiers’ life, create a series of advantages over the opponent, and form a new type of warfare – robot warfare. In this type of warfare, robots will be used instead of soldiers on the battlefield. In fact, in recent wars, combat robots have been used very commonly.
The militaries of the countries having advanced science and technology are in the vanguard of this field. The U.S. Military has managed to manufacture and apply battlefield robots, such as Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR), BigDog combat robot, TALON robot. Israel has also employed a series of robots on the battlefield, especially the DOGO tactical combat robot equipped with a Glock 9mm pistol which has been rated as the best tactical combat robot in the world. In 2017, this country used the Roni combat robot in operations and equipped its infantry units with this type of special robot. Roni is equipped with modern reconnaissance and target-tracking devices and capable of moving across the complex, dangerous terrain.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Army has manufactured and initially introduced the Platform-M reconnaissance robot, Argo unmanned ground vehicle, Uran-6 mine-clearing robot, and Uran-9 robot tank, many of them have been put into the list of equipment of military units and used on the battlefields. Typically in the battle on December 25th2015, Syrian Government’s Army with the support of Russian special forces and robots attacked and occupied a strategic height with the participation of 6 complexes of Platform-M, 4 complexes of Argo and other supporting means. Only after 20 minutes, under the attack of military robots, 70 IS militants were annihilated while the others fled chaotically and left weapons and equipment behind. Analysts believe that Moscow’s deployment of combat robots to the battlefield of Syria has marked a turning point in the world’s military history. Obviously, the appearance of robots on the battlefield will effect changes in the complexion of wars and force people to reconsider the whole existing armed forces, tactics and strategies.
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All comments [ 10 ]
Stories about killer robots, machine-augmented heroes, laser weapons and battles in space - outer or cyber - have always been good for filling cinema seats, but now they have started to liven up sober academic journals and government white papers.
There is no space here to list all the potential benefits of the fourth industrial revolution but suffice to say, our lives will be radically transformed in the coming decades.
There is no space here to list all the potential benefits of the fourth industrial revolution but suffice to say, our lives will be radically transformed in the coming decades.
Is the sensationalism of high-tech weaponry blinding us to technology’s impact on the broader social, political and cultural context that determines why, where and when war happens, what makes it more or less likely, and who wins?
Consider artificial intelligence (AI). The potential for developing lethal autonomous weapons systems grabs headlines (“killer robots!”), but the greatest impact of AI on conflict may be socially mediated
Less prepared nations could see increasingly stark inequality, with economically-excluded young people undermining social stability, losing faith with technocratic governance, and spurring the rise of leaders who aim popular anger at an external enemy.
Today, new modes and artefacts of industrial production will also change demand patterns, empowering countries controlling supply and transit, and disempowering others.
History can only tell us only so much. There is a need for fresh thinking about the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for international security.
Enhanced capacity to operate at speed puts security actors into a constant state of high alert, incentivises investment in resilience, and forces us to live with uncertainty.
Under these conditions, war by mistake – either through over-confidence in your ability to win, or because of exaggerated threat perception – becomes more likely.
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