United States floats the idea of ‘drones on their own’
29 Sep 2012 2:42 AM GMT
The US military’s current fleet of drones will soon be overtaken by a new wave of robots that will be faster, stealthier and smarter –operating virtually without human intervention, experts say.
The Pentagon is investing heavily in ‘autonomy’ for robotic weapons, with researchers anticipating squadrons of drones in the air, land or sea that would work in tandem with manned machines – often with a minimum of supervision.
‘Before they were blind, deaf and dumb. Now we’re beginning to make them to see, hear and sense,’ Mark Maybury, chief scientist for the US Air Force, said.
Unmanned aircraft are now overseen by ‘pilots’ on the ground but as the drones become more sophisticated, the role of remote operators will be more hands-off.
Instead of being ‘in the loop,’ humans will be ‘on the loop,’ said Maybury, explaining that operators will be able to ‘dial in’ when needed to give a drone direction for a specific task.
‘We’re moving into more and more autonomous systems. That’s an evolutionary arc,’ said Peter Singer, an expert on robotic weapons and author of Wired for War.
‘So the role moves from being sort of the operator from afar, to more like the supervisor or manager, and a manager giving more and more of a leash, more and more independence,’ he said.
Despite the dramatic advances in technology, the American military insists humans will remain in control when it comes to using lethal force.
But the next generation of increasingly capable drones will stretch man’s capacity to control robots in battle, generating unprecedented moral and legal quandaries.
‘These [technological] responses that are driven by science, politics and battlefield necessity get you into areas where the lawyers just aren’t ready for it yet,’ Singer said.
Over the next decade, changes in computing power will enable teams of hi-tech drones to operate virtually on their own, or as ‘robotic wingmen’ to piloted aircraft, said Werner Dahm, the Air Force’s former top scientist.
At a testing range in the Arizona desert, Apache helicopters are flying together with unmanned choppers in experiments the Pentagon believes will serve as an eventual model for future warfare.
‘We’re not far away from having a single piloted Apache or other helicopter system and a larger number of unmanned systems that fly with that,’ said Dahm, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University.
No tacit consent for drone attack: Pak
Pakistan dismissed reports on Friday that it accords tacit consent to US drone strikes in its restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, saying that such attacks are illegal and a contravention of international law. Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam categorically rejected the ‘insinuation’ made in a report by The Wall Street Journal that the US government has Pakistan’s ‘tacit consent’ to carry out drone strikes. Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s long-standing position on the missile strikes by the CIA-operated spy planes, saying: ‘Drone attacks are illegal, counter-productive, in contravention of international law and a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. There can be no question of Pakistan’s agreement to such attacks.’ The Wall Street Journal had reported that the CIA sends a fax to a General in Pakistan’s intelligence service once a month, outlining broad areas where the US intends to conduct drone strikes. The report quoted unnamed US officials.
The Pentagon is investing heavily in ‘autonomy’ for robotic weapons, with researchers anticipating squadrons of drones in the air, land or sea that would work in tandem with manned machines – often with a minimum of supervision.
‘Before they were blind, deaf and dumb. Now we’re beginning to make them to see, hear and sense,’ Mark Maybury, chief scientist for the US Air Force, said.
Unmanned aircraft are now overseen by ‘pilots’ on the ground but as the drones become more sophisticated, the role of remote operators will be more hands-off.
Instead of being ‘in the loop,’ humans will be ‘on the loop,’ said Maybury, explaining that operators will be able to ‘dial in’ when needed to give a drone direction for a specific task.
‘We’re moving into more and more autonomous systems. That’s an evolutionary arc,’ said Peter Singer, an expert on robotic weapons and author of Wired for War.
‘So the role moves from being sort of the operator from afar, to more like the supervisor or manager, and a manager giving more and more of a leash, more and more independence,’ he said.
Despite the dramatic advances in technology, the American military insists humans will remain in control when it comes to using lethal force.
But the next generation of increasingly capable drones will stretch man’s capacity to control robots in battle, generating unprecedented moral and legal quandaries.
‘These [technological] responses that are driven by science, politics and battlefield necessity get you into areas where the lawyers just aren’t ready for it yet,’ Singer said.
Over the next decade, changes in computing power will enable teams of hi-tech drones to operate virtually on their own, or as ‘robotic wingmen’ to piloted aircraft, said Werner Dahm, the Air Force’s former top scientist.
At a testing range in the Arizona desert, Apache helicopters are flying together with unmanned choppers in experiments the Pentagon believes will serve as an eventual model for future warfare.
‘We’re not far away from having a single piloted Apache or other helicopter system and a larger number of unmanned systems that fly with that,’ said Dahm, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University.
No tacit consent for drone attack: Pak
Pakistan dismissed reports on Friday that it accords tacit consent to US drone strikes in its restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, saying that such attacks are illegal and a contravention of international law. Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam categorically rejected the ‘insinuation’ made in a report by The Wall Street Journal that the US government has Pakistan’s ‘tacit consent’ to carry out drone strikes. Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s long-standing position on the missile strikes by the CIA-operated spy planes, saying: ‘Drone attacks are illegal, counter-productive, in contravention of international law and a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. There can be no question of Pakistan’s agreement to such attacks.’ The Wall Street Journal had reported that the CIA sends a fax to a General in Pakistan’s intelligence service once a month, outlining broad areas where the US intends to conduct drone strikes. The report quoted unnamed US officials.
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