The ambitious US project begins to create a huge fleet of robotic combat squadrons, easily replicable at a cost so cheap that they will be disposable

he Pentagon has just announced the first combat drone of its new 'Replicator' initiative, its ambitious program to build a massive autonomous army composed of large swarms of combat drones on land, sea and air. The objective of 'Replicator' is to have undeniable strength at very low cost. These swarms will allow, according to experts, to control any area and domain, attacking or defending with an overwhelming number of machines that will be able to act independently and in coordination thanks to artificial intelligence systems.

A full-fledged Skynet although, for now, it will always be under human direction. The first stone of this future force will be the Switchblade 600, the well-known drone developed and manufactured by AeroVironment that has had great success against the Russians in Ukraine. The Switchblade 600 is a kamikaze weapon, also called a loitering munition, that is launched from a tube to perform both reconnaissance and attack missions.

It is equipped with a multipurpose warhead similar to those used in Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, making it perfect for eliminating armored targets. The drone can remain in the air for approximately 40 minutes, reach speeds of up to 185 km/h and operate within a radius of 40 kilometers.

The war of the future

In this phase of the 'Replicator' program, the Department of Defense (DoD) also plans to include various sizes and types of unmanned surface vehicles (USV) and unmanned aerial systems (c-UAS), which will be built by traditional defense companies but also by a new constellation of defense startups such as AeroVironment.

The funding allocated for this year will only be 500 million dollars, but it is expected that this budget will grow exponentially. As demonstrated by the first-ever robot battle between Ukraine and Russia, this is the path for both superpowers like the US and China and smaller players like Iran.

According to Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, "this is a critical step in delivering the capabilities we need, at the scale and speed we need, to continue ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific." .

The Replicator program was introduced in August 2023 by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks at the National Defense Industrial Association's Emerging Technologies conference. This initiative is specially designed to counter China in the face of a conflict in Taiwan using thousands of "small, smart, and cheap" autonomous systems. For the Pentagon, this strategy is something completely new that falls outside the country's current defense framework, which depends on large vehicles and weapons that are extremely expensive and complex.

In her presentation, Hicks pointed out the same thing that defense think tanks and the Pentagon have been pointing out: having swarms of drones will be crucial to face the challenge posed by China in the face of a potential invasion of Taiwan and elsewhere. from Pacific. They are necessary, she said, to counter its "access/area denial capabilities" and overall military mass.

According to Hicks, with 'Replicator' manufacturing and mobilization will increase with our true comparative advantage. This is not matching the enemy in numbers of planes, ships or soldiers, but rather technological innovation. Hicks also noted that these weapons will save soldiers' lives, indirectly referring to Russia's tactics in Ukraine: "After all, we don't use our people as cannon fodder like some rivals do."

The Pentagon states that the 'Replicator' program will only deploy these new autonomous systems in accordance with the "United States' responsible and ethical approach to AI." Something that, Hicks assures, is a cornerstone of the Department of Defense's strategy for more than a decade. However, in geopolitics and war strategy, everything changes very quickly. Despite efforts to ban the use of fully independent AI in weapons, the reality is that the arms race is moving in that direction.

Chronicle of an announced danger

The Pentagon plans to deploy thousands of these autonomous systems over the next 18 to 24 months, an ambitious timeline that underscores the urgency and scale of the Replicator initiative to create a new model of U.S. military capabilities that can be quickly adapted. to emerging threats and technological advances.