Drone advances in Ukraine have accelerated a long-anticipated technology trend that could soon bring the world’s first fully autonomous fighting robots to the battlefield, inaugurating a new age of warfare.
Fully-autonomous robots that kill without a human in the loop have been around for quite a while. They just aren’t as pervasive or visible as they could be.
The Phalanx CIWS (SEE-wiz) is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats.
The only inputs required for operation are 440 V AC three-phase electric power at 60 Hz and water (for electronics cooling).
That’s 1980.
I think that the Soviet analog also can operate without a human in the loop:
The gun mount is fully automated, and can also be remotely controlled by an operator from either the control console or via a remotely mounted gunsight.
Fully-autonomous robots that kill without a human in the loop have been around for quite a while. They just aren’t as pervasive or visible as they could be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS
That’s 1980.
I think that the Soviet analog also can operate without a human in the loop:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-630
If so, that’s 1976.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIM-104_Patriot
That’s 1981.