An Cosantóir

plies over rough terrain, and also in the use of robotic devices by bomb disposal personnel to defuse dangerous devices and IEDs. The use of drones themselves has not been limited to just state militaries. For example, Hezbollah have reportedly developed their own UAV for attacks on Israel. Also, in 2011 Libyan rebels launched UAVs supplied by NATO while also scavenging and creating their own remotely wired, robotic guns. There have also been claims, as yet unproven, that Iraqi insurgents successfully hacked live, unencrypted, video feeds from Predator drones, using basic off-the-shelf computer programmes. The creation of these new frontline capabilities has itself sparked a rethink in the delivery of combat systems. What is being sought with each new development is increased autonomy. Concepts such as 'swarming', where drones are grouped, has led to ideas of independent, self-contained systems. A scaled-up version of this envisions a 'mothership' directing an entirely autonomous fleet that would include robotic submarines and destroyers. Boeing's AH 64-E, dubbed the Apache Guardian, has developed this capability, being able to control unmanned aerial vehicles as an expansion of its functionality. Ideas like these are still primarily drawing-board material but demonstrate the current trajectory where the human user is removed from the dirty, dull and dangerous jobs on the battlefield. In a move of particular note to the Defence Forces, the United Nations has shown interest in deploying UAVs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to monitor the border with Rwanda. Could peacekeeping missions of the future mostly be carried out by drones and other robotic devices and could this decade represent the end of large-scale, human peacekeeping operations? If so, what forces and capabilities will the Defence Forces need to develop in order to stay relevant in its peacekeeping niche? The continuing automation of warfare has even raised fears of a conflict between man and machine, such as that portrayed in the Terminator films of the 1980s, and countless other sci-fi stories. This fear stems from the growing autonomy that increasing artificial intelligence can give robots and the idea of such machines having the power of life and death on the battlefield. Robots uploaded with the 'rules of war' and concepts of conflict would not be unaccountable to military courts or civilian law. Instead, issues of malfunction would dominate explanations of collateral damage. However, the idea that unmanned combat vehicles would be set loose without a command structure and essentially given carte blanche over their activities, is not only | 21 Predator abhorrent to public opinion but also to the military ethos and organisation. The prospect that command and control functions or the responsibility for operations would be handed over primarily to robotics is also unrealistic. In any event, a certain cautiousness must be maintained when predicting the end of the human at the centre of combat. Conflict itself has always been about the struggle of humankind's ideas and not just autonomous impulses. Taranis unNo robot can replace the dynamics of manned aircraft human interaction or intuition when (© BAE Systems) it comes to the areas of politics and/or command. It is our greatest flaw and strength that we do not act or behave in entirely programmed patterns as a computer does. Reducing warfare to binary codes would make the act itself entirely pointless and devoid of meaning. In short, conflict is a human thing. Separate from these issues are the effects experienced by remote operators. How will the increasing use of drones change the experience of conflict itself and the concept of the 'warrior'? Conventional conflict generally requires the mobilisation of a large section of the public. In most circumstances soldiers are removed from their societies and a physical line is drawn between the home front and the war front. Drone warfare has seen the blurring of this line. Drone ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 2013) An X-47B UCAS pilots often spend 8-12 hours a day 'flying' demonstrator flies over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN missions over Afghanistan from a bunker, 77). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication sometimes unleashing lethal munitions, Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter) and returning home the same day to their families. Consequently, it has been reported that drone pilots suffer from higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result. This blurring of the line represents a change where warfare becomes a regular job, almost like shift work, rather than a dangerous, specialist occupation carried out separate from society. The introduction of drone warfare in many ways represents the current technological revolution at its full potential. Drones will become a key component in the arsenals of both state and non-state actors. Time will tell what restraint we must put on these devices, including their appropriate use in combat and the effect they will have on the soldiers themselves. Peter W Singer's Wired for War remains the seminal piece on robotics and modern warfare and is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of robotics and its interaction with the most dangerous of all human activities, going to war. Robert Tarrant, a regular contributor to An Cosantóir, holds a BA in International Relations from Dublin City University (DCU). He is a graduate of MSc Strategic Studies at the University of Aberdeen and an analyst with Wikistrat. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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