The battlefield of the future will be filled with robots replacing human soldiers. The effectiveness of the use of drones in the Ukrainian, Russian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts has forced the military forces of the United States, the UK, China, and Russia to develop their own drone and self-driving forces.
BAE Systems Australia has demonstrated the Autonomous Tactical Light Armor System (ATLAS) Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV) which is an 8×8 armored vehicle with self-driving capabilities.
It is designed to operate in groups on the battlefield with the ability to perform intelligence missions, aid to infantry units, become a UAV interceptor system and destroy obstacles. The ATLAS CCV has a turret that is currently equipped with a 25mm Bushmaster II cannon that is remotely controlled by a human operator.
The decision to shoot is still in human hands as it cannot shoot itself. In the field, the ATLAS CCV can be taken over by a human operator if needed.
The development of UGVs, UAVs, USVs and UUVs will ensure that military personnel can perform missions without endangering their own lives. This year Australia launched the Ghost Shark, a submarine drone that is also capable of self-sailing and before that tested the Ghost Bat, a drone that can pair with a human-controlled fighter aircraft.