Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics relating to the worldwide effort to combat terrorism, as well as efforts by the United States and other nations to protect their national security interests. Volume 144, Autonomous and Semiautonomous Weapons Systems, examines the impact of robots and autonomous and semiautonomous weapons systems on the waging of modern warfare. It considers the likely effects of emerging technological innovations in this area from both a political and strategic standpoint, in addition to considering the implications of such technologies within the context of the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law.
This volume is divided into three sections: (1) U.S. policy and approaches to the use of autonomous and semiautonomous weapons systems; (2) U.S. armed forces use of such weapons systems; and (3) potential terrorist use of such weapons systems. Official policy documents from the DoD and the U.S. Army and Air Force are complemented by reports from the Strategic Studies Institute/Army War College Press and other U.S. military sources.
Introduction A. U.S. POLICY AND APPROACH TO THE USE OF AUTONOMOUS AND SEMIAUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Commentary by Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr. DOCUMENT NO. 1: Task Force Report: The Role of Autonomy in DoD Systems, Defense Science Board, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, July 2012 DOCUMENT NO. 2: Department of Defense Directive 3000.9, Autonomy in Weapon Systems, Ashton B. Carter, Department of Defense, November 21, 2012 DOCUMENT NO. 3: Strategic Insights: The Landpower Robot Revolution Is Coming, Steven Metz, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. War College Press, December 10, 2014 DOCUMENT NO. 4: Policy Challenges of Accelerating Technological Change: Security Policy and Strategy Implications of Parallel Scientific Revolutions, James Kadtke and Linton Wells II, Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP), National Defense University (NDU), September, 2014 B. U.S. ARMED FORCES USE OF AUTONOMOUS AND SEMIAUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Commentary by Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr. DOCUMENT NO. 5: The U.S. Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World, 2020-2040, TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1, Headquarters, U.S. Army, Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, VA, October 31, 2014 DOCUMENT NO. 6: Nightfall: Machine Autonomy in Air-to-Air Combat, Michael W. Byrnes, Air Force Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, June 2014, printed in Air & Space Power Journal, May-June 2014, pp. 48-75 DOCUMENT NO. 7: Nightfall and the Cloud: Examining the Future of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles and Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Michael P. Kreuzer, Air and Space Power Journal, September-October 2015, pp. 57-73 DOCUMENT NO. 8: UNMANNED CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM: Navy Needs to Demonstrate Match between Its Requirements and Available Resources, Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees, Washington, D.C., May 2015 C. POTENTIAL TERRORIST USE OF AUTONOMOUS AND SEMIAUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Commentary by Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr. DOCUMENT NO. 9: Terrorist and Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, and Military Implications, Robert J. Bunker, Strategic Studies Institute, Army War College Press, August 2015
Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr., is the Director of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College. Earlier in his military career, he worked on national security directives. He holds an MBA degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a J.D. from Widener School of Law.
