Robots to revolutionize military operations.

• Author: McKinley, Craig R.
• Position: President's Perspective

The Duke of Wellington, the British victor over Napoleon at Waterloo, once commented that he spent most of his military career wondering what was happening on the other side of the hill.

A retired German general who had been in the Africa Corps in World War II once offered the observation that on any given day, "A third of the Africa Corps was sick, and another third was lost." And an infantry veteran of the Vietnam War once confessed that, "If the artillery doesn't land where you want it, that probably means that you don't know where you are."

In a sense, many of these age-old military problems are now being solved by electronics combined with robotics. With the contemporary ability we now have to send out unmanned air vehicles, commanders can see in real-time what is happening on the other side of the hill. Some of the technology that guides these reconnaissance drones also allows units, and even individual vehicles and aircraft, to precisely locate themselves. And in the arena of Army artillery, today's modernized cannons have essentially been turned into large robots. What do I mean by that? The new M-109 series howitzer can unlock its tube, locate itself, compute its own firing data and aim the cannon. The crew loads the projectile and then mostly observes. Similarly, military aircraft can be programmed to launch, fly to designated targets, deliver ordnance and return to base with little human engagement other than the need to insert the mission data.

It is amazing to reflect on the path we are on, and the ultimate societal implications. Consider that 200 years ago, 70 percent of American workers lived on farms and produced the food that sustained the other 30 percent in pursuing other endeavors. Today, automation and machinery have eliminated all but one percent of farming jobs. During this remarkable change, those who migrated from the farms slowly assumed new positions and engaged in new pursuits, including making the farm equipment that had displaced them, and providing other goods and services that farmers in the 1800s could hardly have imagined.

This trend is certain to continue. By some estimates, by the end of this century 70 percent of today's occupations will be replaced by robots or other forms of automation.

By most accounts this migration toward greater automation and robotics is inevitable and expansive. It will certainly impact how wars are fought as the abilities of sophisticated equipment are increasingly able to...