Robot Wars: British Army chief General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith says UK military of the future will use unmanned vehicles and 'swarms of drones' controlled by 'motherships'
Armoured fighting vehicles will act as 'motherships' commanding teams of robots assisting UK soldiers in the future, the head of the British Army said today.
General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith said fighting units and these logistics assets would then be supported by artillery which would fire on targets identified 'by swarms of drones'.
The former director of Special Forces said the military will also grow its special operations and intelligence capabilities and 'shine a light into the shadows'.
Training foreign armies overseas will also be expanded and that training will act as a 'war laboratory' where soldiers can test new skills and kit for future battles, the Chief of the General Staff said.
Gen Carleton-Smith gave a rare briefing on his vision for the Army at Dennison Barracks, Berkshire, where the secretive 77 Brigade is based.
The brigade helps counter Covid disinformation and disrupt extremist activities online as it uses 'non-lethal' forms of psychological warfare to 'fight in the information age'.
Outlining his future plans for the Army, Gen Carleton-Smith said he wanted teams of humans and machines to be commonplace by 2025.
He said: 'In time, Armoured Fighting Vehicles will be command hubs – ''motherships'' – commanding teams of robots and thereby generating a new form of combat mass.
General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith said these assets would then be supported by artillery which would fire on targets identified 'by swarms of drones'
Outlining his future plans for the Army, Gen Carleton-Smith said he wanted teams of humans and machines to be commonplace by 2025
He said: 'In time, Armoured Fighting Vehicles will be command hubs – ''motherships'' – commanding teams of robots and thereby generating a new form of combat mass
'They will be supported by longer range and more powerful artillery than the Army have ever used, firing on targets identified by swarms of drones.'
The first robotic vehicles will be handed over to 2 PARA and other troops for training this month, he revealed.
He said a new Army will be about the integration of 'boots and bots' and 'proxies and pixels' which is fit for the demands of the digital age.
The chief suggested that some regular troops would become more like Special Forces, with specialist skills that could be drawn upon.
'Our priorities will include growing our Special Operations and Intelligence capability to enhance one of our most valued and relevant strategic assets, to ensure we stay ahead of our adversaries, and succeed in missions along the entire spectrum of requirement', he said.
He added: 'We need forces to shine a light into the shadows.
'But all the while we must also be ready to fight and win because a conventional 'war' in the future cannot be ruled out, and the ability to fight remains a fundamental and core capability – our primary responsibility to the nation.'
The Ministry of Defence also wants to ensure that British training of other armies overseas benefits the UK as much as the host nation.
Gen Carleton-Smith said training would act as a 'war laboratory' where techniques could be trialled and developed.
He said: 'We will create – and train against – a multi-domain 'enemy' force, to fight in all domains against our troops, and in doing so ensure that our training acts as a war laboratory.'
Russia has been accused of using Syria as a testing ground for its new weaponry, with even President Vladimir Putin himself admitting it was a 'priceless' opportunity to develop fighting capabilities.
MoD officials want UK forces to get more out of their training of nations overseas so they have the same benefit as the nation they are training.
Gen Carleton-Smith comments come as the Government carries out a major review of defence and foreign policy, which is due to conclude in November.
More money is expected to be pumped into cyber amid fears Britain is falling behind its adversaries when it comes to online attacks.