THE ECONOMIC CALCULUS OF FIELDING AUTONOMOUS FIGHTING VEHICLES COMPLIANT WITH THE LAWS OF ARMED CONFLICT

Abstract

The U.S. military and others worldwide have undergone a rapid evolution in the numbers, sophistication and lethality of the robotic weaponry that they deploy to the battlefield. The rate of transformation in the field of robotics and weapons technology raises numerous questions about what legal considerations should be made as we approach the step beyond remotely controlled drone weaponry to fully autonomous fighting vehicles as human operated weapons evolve into self-directed warriors.