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The Front Line | Why China and the US still invest in costly crewed military systems when they have drones
While autonomous weapons have advantages, analysts say humans will remain central to decision-making and combat operations
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China is on a mission to turn its military into a modern fighting force. In the third of this four-part series, we look at why drones are not replacing humans on the battlefield but ‘redefining roles’.
Rapid advances in drone and robot technology in recent years are reshaping modern warfare.
From robot dogs to hi-tech drones, top military powers like China and the United States have technology that could – in the not too distant future – play important roles on the battlefield, while humans stay in command centres far away.
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Five years ago, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his generals that “unmanned operations are profoundly changing the nature of warfare” and urged the People’s Liberation Army to speed up adoption of drone technology.
Meanwhile, Washington has floated a “hellscape” strategy in Asia in which swarms of drones would be deployed around Taiwan to defend the island in the event of an attack by the PLA.
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Prominent voices including Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla chief, have even claimed it is now pointless to invest in advanced crewed weapon systems instead of drones, with Musk saying it was “severely undermining our national security”.
But despite the obvious advantages of autonomous weapons in reducing human casualties and costs, top military powers like China, the United States, Europe, Japan and Russia are still investing in expensive crewed systems such as sixth-generation fighter jets.
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