DOD Needs Solutions for the Proliferation of Autonomous Vehicles, Defense Official Says

For several decades now, autonomous systems including aircraft, ground vehicles and waterborne craft have proliferated. While there hasn't been a direct assault on a U.S. military base yet, autonomous systems remain a threat and something the Defense Department is seeking solutions for.

"If you look at the situation now, which is something easily predictable back in, I will say, two decades ago ... you're already seeing the increase in number of ... unmanned systems," said Heidi Shyu, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. "With that increasingly growing, exponentially worldwide, the obvious thing we have to think about is how are we going to counter that. Because we already have unmanned systems that are intruding into our installations."

It's not just airborne autonomous systems that are growing in numbers. Autonomous systems exist across all domains, including air, land and sea, Shyu said, during a discussion today at the National Defense Industrial Association's 2024 Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.

But inside the U.S., there are rules for how the military services can engage with those systems if they are deemed a threat - and defeating them will mean complying with those rules while at the same time working to protect both people and property.

"What we're trying to do is figure out [the] different rules," she said. "We can't really shoot it down with a missile."

Shyu said while there are solutions being worked now, the Defense Department is interested in having industry proffer even more options for it and the military services to consider.

"We have to figure out solutions," she said. "I think counter-[unmanned aircraft system] is never going to die, because it's a cat and mouse game. As soon as you figure something out, your adversary will do something different. This is going to be a growing need and ... there isn't one solution that can counter every single scenario. Therefore, you need to have an integrated solution of multiple capabilities. This is one area, which is not even classified ... [where] if you have great ideas, this is a great opportunity."

Another area where Shyu said the Defense Department needs ideas is in contested logistics, where adversaries attempt to disrupt, destroy or defeat friendly force logistics operations.

"That means if I have to sustain your troops at the front and you have to carry food, fuel [and] everything else to the front [of] the battlefield," Shyu said. "How do you deliver your products there? Contested logistics is a big issue, and it is an issue we are trying to tackle."