A new study from the Center for a New American Security suggests the military should be more forceful in developing robotic and autonomous technology for combat operations. In addition, the Air Force should embrace these tools to supplement intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance and high-risk missions, such as defeating air defenses. “Robotics on the Battlefield—Part I: Range, Persistence, and Daring,” looks at key technologies and how they could be better developed for use across the military services to further efficiency, build survivable capabilities, and save lives. “Some parts of the military continue to resist the expansion of uninhabited systems into traditional combat roles,” states the study. Strong leadership from the Defense Department will be required in the future to overcome these obstacles. The study argues that the winner of the “robotics revolution” will not be the first to develop technology, but the one who figures out how to utilize it best. Specifically, for the Air Force, the study urges the development of multi-aircraft control technology that allows a single operator to control several remotely piloted aircraft, the development of high altitude long endurance air vehicles to act as a “resilient airborne layer” for communications and navigation to counter attacks on space systems, and develop low cost RPAs for high risk missions such as suppression of enemy air defenses.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
