Armed drones in Indian military: Can machines understand the rules of war?

Contact Counsellor

CategoryDefence

Last Updated08/01/2023

India is on a drive to induct unmanned combat systems into the military. Months after the Indian Army announced the induction of “swarm drones” into its mechanised forces.
Military drones are important assets in “navigating the turbulent security situation” in the littorals.

China’s undersea presence in the Indian Ocean: is on the cusp of crossing a critical threshold.
Sighting of Chinese drones: in the waters off Indonesian islands.
Rise in the deployment of Chinese research and survey vessels: in the waters around India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Warfighting abilities of underwater autonomous platforms: powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
AI powered by deep learning, data analytics, and cloud computing: poised to alter the maritime battlefront, potentially triggering a revolution in naval affairs in India
Drawbacks:
May compromise the control, safety, and accountability of weapon systems;
Enhances the risk of shared liability between networked systems.
Biases in the collection of data, in the set of instructions for data analysis
Automates weapon systems in ways that are inconsistent with the laws of war.

Fielding nascent technologies without comprehensive testing: puts both military personnel and civilians at risk.
Targeting human beings based on probabilistic assessments is problematic: as a computer has no access to the data to make an informed decision & doesn’t recognise the need for information for an optimal solution.
No easy way of incorporating AI-fuelled warfighting approaches into doctrine: particularly when many technologies are in a nascent stage of development, and there is little clarity about how effective AI could be in combat.

Not yet clear if unmanned maritime systems enjoy the status of “ships”: under the UN convention of the laws of the sea; even if they do, it is unlikely that they can be classified as warships.
Issue of usage: their lawful use is not necessarily precluded in either peacetime or armed conflict.
Capacity limitation: that restricts the development of AI. A large gap still exists in the development of engineering, airborne and underwater sensors, weapon systems, and hi-tech components.

Focus on using AI in noncombat activities: such as training, logistics, inventory management, maritime domain awareness, and predictive maintenance.
An incremental approach: acknowledging that AI in warfare is not just a matter of combat effectiveness but also of warfighting ethics.

India’s naval leadership would do well to avoid the conundrum of developing AI-powered underwater systems, whose use might be justified in an operational context, but violate the fundamental principles of “humanity”, “military necessity”, and “proportionality” that underpin the laws of war.