In a new report from AI News, the UK armed forces and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory(Dstl) have collaborated with the United States and Australian militaries as a part of the AUKUS partnership in a landmark trial that focuses on AI and autonomous systems.
The trial was held in Australia and was called Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in Contested Environments or TORVICE for short.
AUKUS partnership was developed last year between the three territories. The landmark trial tested vehicles and sensors in a myriad of scenarios. These scenarios involved electronic attacks, and GPS disruptions to name a few, and were focused on determining the resilience of the autonomous systems. These trails are meant to help developers better understand how these new AI systems can ensure that these new assets can remain reliable in the wake of electronic warfare as well as cyber threats before being more widely implemented.
The TROVICE trail featured United States and British autonomous vehicles whose objective was to simply carry out reconnaissance missions while Australian vehicles were put through simulated battlefield electronic attacks on the vehicle's systems. Dstl technical authority, Guy Powell, has stated "The TORVICE trial aims to understand the capabilities of robotic and autonomous systems to operate in contested environments.We need to understand how robust these systems are when subject to attack." Powell went on toreveal that "Robotic and autonomous systems are a transformational capability that we are introducing to armies across all three nations."
The first trial was conducted last year in April 2023 in the UK and this recent trial builds on that. The trial also shows progress following the AUKUS defense minister's announcement in December where it was stated that Resilient and Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Technologies(RAAIT) are to be integrated into the individual countries' military forces in 2024.
The Dstl's military advisor, Lt Col. Russ Atherton has described and praised these new developments stating that they will "be an absolute game-changer" while also reducing the risks to soldiers. Atherton also stated "The ability to deploy different payloads such as sensors and logistics across a larger battlespace will give commanders greater options than currently exist" By working together the three countries will continue to make various new strides that will improve their forces individually, better improve the teamwork between their forces while also increasing their expertise and improve deterrence in the Indo-pacific region.
This continues to show AI will not only improve the live of those at home, as LG and Volkswagen have also integrated AI into their products, but it will also serve militaries around the globe as partnerships such as this one continue to flourish.
