Cyber warfare tools, guided munitions, and mass production of 3D-printed, automated drones are future military technologies that the US will be focusing on in the near future, according to a report from national security think-tank, according to the Center for a New American Security, the CBS reports.
The US is preparing for war in the robotic age, when
unmanned aircraft and fleets of 3D-printed, remote-controlled drones
stealthily would be flying over battlefields, suggest the CNAS study, "Process Over Platforms: A Paradigm Shift in Acquisition through Advanced Manufacturing."
The
remotely-piloted Unmanned Aircraft Systems employed over the past
decade in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations will soon be replaced by
"increasingly autonomous systems" on land, sea, undersea, air and
space, the report states. According to the authors of the report, the US
will be using these unmanned systems "out of operational necessity"
along with the rising "costs of personnel" and the "unsustainable pace"
of training soldiers.
"Technological superiority over
potential state adversaries is now considered a foundational aspect of
any US defense strategy," write the authors. "If we do not innovate
boldly, others will. There is no reason to believe that other countries
less friendly to the US will be unable to surprise the US by introducing
militarily useful robotic system."
Recently, Congress
passed the federal budget bill for 2014, approving $497 billion for the
Defense Department, which is about the same as 2013. In addition, the
Pentagon will also receive $85.2 billion for war expenses, or nearly $6
billion more than was requested.
Voice of Russia, CBS News