Why is it Important to Build Weapon Systems Autonomously?

Posted by Fifty50 Official on January 6th, 2021

No doubt, autonomous weapon systems are slowly progressing from science fiction movies to battlefields. In the near future, we may well see autonomous weapons taking center stage and dictating the war results.

Well, there is no point in being apprehensive about the efficacy of autonomous weapon systems. Deployment of autonomous weapon systems can significantly reduce human casualties in future wars. Though there are very few chances of war being fought on land in the future, autonomous weapon systems are incredibly beneficial.

This is the reason many developed nations are designing autonomous weapon systems to be a step ahead of their adversaries. Note that these weapon systems can carry out strikes on enemies with pinpoint accuracy. So let’s take a glance at the importance to build weapon systems autonomously.     

Autonomous Weapon Systems act as Force Multipliers

To be precise, there exist a broad number of advantages with autonomous weapon systems. One of the critical highlights of autonomous weapon systems is that they act as a force multiplier. If a particular nation has to show domination over another, deploying these weapon systems would be enough.

Also, the army needs to send fewer men with the deployment of these weapons. These types of weapons also increase the efficacy of each man on a mission. They can provide technical inputs on enemy positions and conduct covert reconnaissance missions.

In actual war time situations, these weapon systems can help save casualties to a great extent. These weapons can reach even the most inhospitable terrains out there in the world. So as you can see, having them can significantly increase the fighting potential of an army.     

A Brief Overview of Fully Autonomous Weapon Systems

Entirely autonomous weapon systems are adept at engaging enemy targets with no inputs from human intelligence. In other words, they rely on automation to win wars. It is important here to note that these weapon systems can also select targets on the basis of their sensor inputs.

In simple words, they can identify enemy targets by relying on the processing by sensors. No doubt, fully autonomous weapon systems can trigger an arms race throughout the world. But at the same time, one also cannot deny that they are the next big thing after fighter jets. 

Role of AI in Autonomous Weapon System Platforms

One of the key highlights of autonomous weapon systems is the role of AI. Artificial Intelligence is playing a crucial role in the evolution of these weapon systems. Autonomous weapon platforms are also using machine learning techniques to eliminate dependency on human inputs.

As they don’t face fatigue, you can deploy them in arid deserts and snowy mountains. Both AI and machine learning are making these weapon systems more sophisticated. There are wide-scale applications of AI like improving accuracy and precision while targeting enemies.

The semi-autonomous weapon systems in drones, best depict how AI can enhance human decision making. Also, there has been a gradual rise in lethal autonomous aerial weapon platforms. Countries are concentrating on developing fully automated drones that can take down enemy structures without any human interference.

Military experts predict that drones with fully autonomous weapons packages can take out an entire fleet of aircraft. In the wake of nuclear wars in the future, it is the autonomous weapon systems that can target enemy targets without human casualties.        

From the above discussion, it is evident that autonomous weapon systems are here to stay. The semi-autonomous weapon systems we have today are already showing their capabilities. Autonomous weapon systems can no doubt help a country to secure its borders.