DIGITAL INFANTRY BATTLEFIELD SOLUTION CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS DIBS project Part II DIGITAL INFANTRY DIGITAL INFANTRY BATTLEFIELD SOLUTION BATTLEFIELD SOLUTION CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS DIBS project Part II DIBS project Part II Editors Uģis Romanovs Māris Andžāns Milrem in cooperation with Latvian Institute of International Affairs Latvian National Defence Academy August 2017 in cooperation with Digital Infantry Battlefield Solution. Concept of Operations. DIBS project. Part Two The book consists of a collection of opinions by authors from different countries and diverse research backgrounds, building on the first volume of this project with a multi-faceted review of the development of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) in military use. In addition to reconsidering ethical and legal aspects of the use of UGVs, the book takes a closer view on how different nations have developed and are progressing with their UGV capabilities. Editors: Uģis Romanovs and Māris Andžāns Authors of the articles: Māris Andžāns, Liran Antebi, Gal Perl Finkel, Glen E. Howard, Olavi Jänes, Ron LaGrone, Asta Maskaliūnaitė, Igors Rajevs, Uģis Romanovs, Zdzisław Śliwa, Riho Terras, Nora Vanaga, Kuldar Väärsi, Boaz Zalmanowicz, Serhiy Zghurets The opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of any of the partners, any governmental or other entity. English language editor: James Rogers Cover design: Kristīne Plūksna-Zvagule Layout design: Oskars Stalidzāns © Authors of the articles ISBN 978-9934-567-04-9 © Cover design: Kristīne Plūksna-Zvagule UDK 623.5198 © Layout design: Oskars Stalidzāns Di417 © MILREM, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword: Defence Research and Innovation – Future of the Baltic Military Cooperation. Riho Terras ............... 7 Foreword: Military Evolution and Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Glen E. Howard...................... 10 Introductory Remarks: Towards Conceptualisation of Digital Infantry Battlefield Solutions. Uģis Romanovs and Māris Andžāns .... 13 ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS (Military) Ethics of Industry and Development of Autonomous Systems. Asta Maskaliūnaitė ...................... 17 Legal Considerations of Using Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Olavi Jänes.......................... 27 UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES IN DEVELOPMENT AND PRACTICE: COUNTRY STUDIES China. Nora Vanaga ............................................ 45 Israel. Boaz Zalmanowicz, Liran Antebi and Gal Perl Finkel .......... 56 Poland. Mirosław Smolarek ...................................... 65 Russia. Zdzisław Śliwa .......................................... 75 Ukraine. Serhiy Zghurets ........................................ 88 The United States. Ron LaGrone................................. 101 5 MILREM’S TRACKED HYBRID MODULAR INFANTRY SYSTEM IN SUPPORT OF LIGHT INFANTRY OPERATIONS Assessment of the MILREM’s Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System in Support of Light Infantry Operations. Igors Rajevs ........................ 113 Concluding Remarks: Towards Robotisation of Warfighting in the 21st Century. Kuldar Väärsi.................. 173 About the Authors ............................................ 177 6 FOREWORD: DEFENCE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION – FUTURE OF THE BALTIC MILITARY COOPERATION Riho Terras, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces All three Baltic states are rapidly increasing their defence budgets. Latvia and Lithuania are planning to catch up with Estonia and reach the 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) threshold by 2018. In all three countries, the defence priority areas are related to the development of combat and combat support capabilities, combat training support, information, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), and command and control capabilities, including cyber defence. In other words, all three countries are working hard to close some of the most critical capability gaps. Needless to say, there are areas such as air defence and maritime defence where the Baltic nations are and will be heavily dependent on the support from NATO allies. Furthermore, all three countries are aiming to build civil societies that are more organised and resilient against various types of military and non-military threats. The roots of these threats are primarily related to the methods and tools Russia applied in the military conflicts with Georgia and Ukraine. However, we must keep in mind that each war and conflict is unique, and making our predictions only based on past events is a short-sighted approach. Due to rapid technological developments, the importance of defence research and innovation is growing and it should be treated as one of the key elements that shapes the design of defence, and it is of importance for the Baltic states to acknowledge this fact. Russian research and development in defence has significantly increased during the recent years. The Russian Federation pays particular attention to the digitalisation and cyber security of communication and weapon systems; the development of weapons of the next generation; and 7 the introduction of unmanned systems on the battlefield. Russia has taken one of the leading roles in the world in the context of the development of weaponised unmanned ground vehicles. This means that the nature of land warfare might change radically in the coming years. Defence-related research and development allows us to stay on the top of this matter and prepares us to face new challenges of the future battlefield. Defence related innovation, research and development requires the involvement of institutions from various sectors. This means that military research and development sponsors and enhances civilian innovation, consequently contributing to the competitiveness and progress of these companies. In addition, it helps broadening the circles of society involved in defence-related matters, which is critically important for the “whole-of-government” approach to defence. With this in mind, the Baltic states – buoyed by rising defence budgets – should allocate more resources to defence innovation and research, particularly to projects conducted by various consortia of cross- sector and regional organisations. Our defence establishments should also facilitate and help with the involvement of military and civil research intuitions, as well as the defence industry, into NATO and EU-organised and sponsored research and development activities. These include NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, European Defence Agency’s research projects and activities under the umbrella of the newly introduced European Defence Fund. Development of new defence systems takes a long time and implies high risks for industry as technical requirements and military capability priorities can rapidly change. Consequently, industries might be reluctant to invest into military technologies if there is no clear commitment from the national authorities. Thus, the Baltic states have to look into new forms of military-industrial cooperation and communication, which assures and promotes circumstances for safe investments into innovation and research into the next generation of capability development. Furthermore, I would recommend the adjustment of the professional military education curricula by promoting future leaders’ understanding of the potential and importance of defence-related innovation and research. 8 And finally, each of the Baltic states separately has very limited possibilities to support the whole cycle – from the initial concept, through to research and on to the development of the product or capability. It is due to various reasons, including financial resources, availability of subject-matter experts and military units, which can be used for experimentation and testing of the product, capability or doctrine. Therefore, I suggest that the Baltic states consider pooling their defence and innovation efforts and resources. Furthermore, projects, such as Digital Infantry Battlefield Solution (DIBS), should be taken as an example. Defence research and innovation is the future of the Baltic military cooperation. 9 FOREWORD: MILITARY EVOLUTION AND UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES Glen E. Howard, The Jamestown Foundation Technology and warfare have been strongly interconnected throughout the history since the age of antiquity. The use of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) is a part of that evolution, albeit one that is lagging behind its sister – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – both in sheer numbers, technological advances and doctrine. Nonetheless, UGV technology continues to be developed and is evolving in terms of its application on the modern battlefield, particularly in support of ground operations. As this collection of articles demonstrates, some sectors of technology have, and will continue to affect modern warfare and UGVs will be a part of this effort as their roles and missions evolve. Robotic UGVs will one-day provide critical support for surveillance and target acquisition in ground based operations as their testing and trials continue around the world. From the battlefields of Eastern Ukraine, to the use of ground penetrating radars by Israel in its struggle against Palestinian militants, new and novel techniques are being used for the development of UGV’s, especially in urban environments where the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) appear to be fuelling the greatest needs for UGVs. For this reason it is important to assess the development and growth of UGVs, which is the purpose of this volume of articles. One of the particular