During his keynote Wednesday, Caine highlighted how AI and unmanned systems technology contributed to the rescue of downed Army Apache helicopter pilots near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz just a few months ago.<\/p>\n
The age of AI-enabled drone warfare is here, and U.S. military leaders should assume that their troops will be \u201chunted\u201d by autonomous systems on the battlefield, according to America\u2019s top officer.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine highlighted the threat during a keynote speech Wednesday at AFA\u2019s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference, citing the Ukraine-Russia war as an example.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Ukraine, we see \u2026 first-person view drones operating in heavily contested [electromagnetic interference] environments, some now using AI-enabled computer vision to continue to drive towards targets even when there\u2019s no GPS or the links are cut. That gives small units affordable precision and shows how quickly software and autonomy are changing what is possible at the tactical edge. And the results are stark,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn certain locations on the front line of troops right now, the life expectancy of a new Russian recruit arriving on the front lines is as little as 20 to 30 minutes. Think about that. This is what happens when low-cost precision [weaponry] is fielded fast, adapted quickly, and scaled across the battlefield. The price of lethal exchange is decreasing day over day. One wonders what the future of close air support looks like, but I am comforted by the fact that each and every one of you are in this room thinking about that,\u201d he told conference attendees.<\/p>\n
American forces need to be ready to operate in that type of conflict environment, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to assume from now on that our formations will be hunted by autonomous systems, jammed across the spectrum, and tracked in real time. And we have to transition the joint force to be prepared to fight and win our future wars by generating and delivering lethality at scale with an agile, optimized, high-low mix of combat capabilities to give the young members of the 2.8 million member all-volunteer joint force the tools that they need before they need them,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n
Advancements in AI and cyber capabilities are the top factor in accelerating changes in warfare, according to the chairman, who noted that such tools can help with many key elements of operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the future fight, advantage will go to the side who can see first, who can understand first, decide first, and act first, and along the way be a learning organization,\u201d Caine said. \u201cAI is here now and it\u2019s already changing the way militaries see, sense, decide and act. And across the joint force, we\u2019re putting AI to work every single day to move faster, to make better decisions through active adaptation on every single battlefield by leaders in your joint force.\u201d<\/p>\n
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