Summary UAVs are crucial in modern warfare for surveillance and missile deployment, aiding in drawing up battlefield strategies. Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) involves using UAV technology alongside AI and Quantum Sensing for real-time war strategies. In future wars, unmanned vehicles will play a significant role, requiring combined efforts in MDI for effective communication in battle.
Before we discuss how the military will use drones, or as it prefers to call them, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in future operations, it is essential to understand UAVs and their role in modern warfare. A UAV can be defined as an aerial vehicle that does not have a human pilot onboard. A UAV uses aerodynamic forces to lift and fly autonomously or be piloted by a human on the ground.
A UAV can be recoverable or expendable, depending upon its mission. While many UAVs are used primarily for surveillance, others carry munitions like the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. On January 3, 2020, an MQ-9 Reaper fired an AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missile, killing Iranian Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani while he was visiting Iraq.
UAVs are becoming more important The United States Department of Defense (DoD) began looking at the value of UAVs in warfare in 1982 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. During the three-month-long conflict, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) successfully used real-time surveillance IAI Scout UAVs to neutralize Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries. Since then, other countries have begun using less sophisticated Chinese-made drones for surveillance and Kamikaze drones like the Ukrainian military is doing in their war with Russia.
The advantages of using UAVs are: Help minimize casualties and loss of life They are very cost-effective They can provide real-time surveillance Help draw up a battlefield strategy They can stay in the air for an extended period Have a global reach Can deliver goods and equipment Air, land, sea, space and cyberspace New inventions and technological advances have contributed to how wars are fought strategically throughout history. All military branches are now using UAVs in Multi-Domain Integration (MDI). As we have witnessed in Ukraine, the nature of warfare is now more complex than ever, with data gathered across land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains playing a vital role in intelligence gathering.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) quantum sensing, automation, and human-machine interaction are on track to become critical components in harnessing real-time situation awareness when time is of the essence and split-second decisions need to be made. Quantum Sensing Quantum Sensing is a state-of-the-art sensor technology that, on an atomic level, vastly improves how we measure, see, study, explore, and interact with the world by noticing changes in motion and magnetic and electrical fields. By using Quantum Sensing, we can send encrypted signals and messages without the fear of them being intercepted and interpreted by adversaries.
The Lockheed Martin SR-72 is a hypersonic UAV expected to enter service in 2023. Quantum Sensing can also be integrated into a human-machine interface that enables a pilot to communicate with the aircraft computer systems from a helmet-mounted display, allowing for unprecedented situational awareness. Understanding Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) According to a United Kingdom Ministry of Defense blog post, to understand what Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) is, you need to look at how Russia supported the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015.
During the conflict, Russian forces simultaneously combined naval, land, air, space, and cyberspace assets to defeat Assad's opponents. They were able to do this by: Establishing a complex and integrated air defense system. Creating a secure supply line to deliver weapons and other supplies through the Port of Tartus and Khmeimim Air Base near Damascus.
Deploying missile-carrying submarines in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Firing cruise missiles into Northern Syria from Russian Navy ships in the Caspian Sea. Using UAVs for surveillance and target acquisition.
Bombarding the Syrian people with positive information about the Assad regime. While the blog post cannot confirm or deny it, it speculates that Russia used satellite assent in space for intelligence gathering. Having seen how Russia used all of its military assets in a Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) way, the United Kingdom says it will use its military assets in a similar but more advanced way to protect the United Kingdom from attack.
Using a proportional response to the threat posed, the United Kingdom will set up an umbrella of defensive measures to thwart the enemy at every turn. Australia is about to receive the first of four MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drones that will complement its fleet of P-8 Poseidon aircraft. To make up the defensive umbrella, the United Kingdom would use the following assets: Deploy a Carrier Strike Group off the enemy coast.
Using Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft to carry out surveillance and targeted air strikes. Use long-range precision-guided missiles, autonomous reconnaissance robots, and specialized infantry to conduct land operations. Use highly trained special forces units to go behind enemy lines to destroy air defense systems and enemy supply lines.
Use personal or online messaging to communicate to the aggressor and its supporters that they have made a grave mistake and need to rethink their actions or face the consequences. Jam and disrupt enemy communications and propaganda using cyber warfare specialists trained to take down computer systems. Use artificial intelligence-enabled UAVs to identify hostile targets and resupply military personnel in the theater.
The UK would then use space-based satellites for communications, surveillance, and intelligence gathering for all of the above assets. The data collected would be shared with intelligence agencies and UK allies. For Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) to succeed, all its aspects must work together to create a digital backbone.
While the United Kingdom military has state-of-the-art tech equipment and highly trained men and women, in the past, many of the intelligence-gathering assets have worked in isolation and not combined to provide a complete image of what is happening in real time to create the digital backbone. Using artificial intelligence to sift through all the data and help create an overall picture of what is happening is vital. Future wars will be fought with machines Any future war involving the United States, other NATO members, or China and Russia will be heavily unmanned, with UAVs and other sea and land-based autonomous vehicles used to gather information and deliver armaments.
All systems must be combined in a Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) way that allows them to communicate in a contested battle space..
