Chapter 2 – MILITARY RELEVANCE Chapter Lead : R . Taylor

Unmanned Military Vehicles (UMVs) are enablers of military capability with clear endorsement at the highest level. Many NATO Nations have active programmes to develop and integrate UMV systems into the front line military force mix. UMVs are most commonly characterised as dealing well with 3D tasks – dull, dirty and dangerous. They are used extensively in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles, affording persistence in the provision of critical information, without risking lives. Increasingly, they are being considered for combat and support roles. Modern warfare needs military capability to respond to the threat of conventional hostile force and to the challenges of asymmetric conflicts, where political and military success relies on effects-based targeting and operations. In the age of Network Centric Warfare (NCW), ISR information supplied by UMV systems can be a key combat multiplier in the hands of a commander [1]. Automation technology and computer-based information processing are increasingly important for balancing affordability, capability and achievability with increasing pressures on scarce, skilled human resources. Important questions remain about what realistic effects can be expected to be achieved by UMVs in the uncertain, ambiguous and non-linear battle-space of the future, including how international law will interpret robotic warfare in the future [2,3]. However, the main consideration of this report is not so much the military relevance of UMVs, since this seems mostly self evident. Rather, the key issue is to establish why human factors (HF) are important military relevant issues with “unmanned” technologies. Since UMV technologies are expected to actually reduce human involvement in some tasks, it is not self evident why HF issues should warrant raised attention. Thus, the reasons for raising HF concerns are in need of review. In this report, when referencing UMVs, the term “uninhabited” will be substituted for “unmanned” where appropriate, in recognition of the role of both women and men equally in serving our armed forces.