Military Technology 06/2021

Industrial Focus MT 6/2021· 79 developments will open many doors for us in local and global markets, military and commercial alike.” Boaz Levy, IAI’s CEO, commenting on both agreements, also high- lighted the opportunities afforded by the partnership. “Localization and cooperation are central and critical to our UAE strategy’s success. [The shipbuilding] MoU brings together the best technological knowhow from both companies – EDGE Group’s and ADBS’ naval and commercial ves- sel expertise, and IAI’s expertise in autonomous systems, robotics, and artificial intelligence – for a joint ‘Made in UAE’ effort, maximizing both companies business opportunities and growth.” Kronstadt Developing Swarm Technology for Armed UAVs Russian company Kronstadt is developing technology to allow various types of armed UAVs to be integrated into a swarm, Ria Novosti quoted General Director, Sergei Bogatikov, as saying on 16 November. The technology uses AI to increase the “intelligence [and] information awareness of the UAV, which gives them the ability to independently make the right decisions,” Bogatikov said. The end goal is to move away from human control of the UAVs, he added. The “operator will not issue tasks to specific devices, but set the task to perform an action in a given area. The group or swarm will independently assign roles and prioritise the task. This applies to both strike missions and aerial reconnaissance missions.” The work is also extends to reconnaissance-strike complexes that would incorporate land-based and naval assets into the UAV swarm’s network. Bogatikov stated the UAVs will be developed to detect, classify, and engage targets independently, though it is unclear whether humans would be involved in this process. Asked about the complexity of developing an unmanned system ca- pable of independently locating and engaging a target, Bogatikov replied that the main complexity results from the need to teach the unmanned system how to identify targets correctly in a combat situation. However, he emphasised that deploying weapons autonomously, once a target had been correctly identified, would be straightforward. The Russian military is divided on the role of AI in future warfare, which is also true of most other militaries. There is an awareness that AI is al- most certain to play a role in future conflict. Nascent efforts are focused on improving the automation already deployed in Russia’s information management and C2 systems. However, according to a 2021 report from the Center for Naval Analyses , there is a discussion within Russian mili- tary over the ultimate destination of AI within a military context. The think tank states the consensus is for the need to have a human in the loop. In this context, while the developments detailed by Bogatikov may seem alarming, it is likely the company is actually exploring the utility of AI and unmanned platforms in an effort to see what they can be reliably used to achieve. Samuel Cranny-Evans is a research associate for the Royal United Services Institute. and CEO, Eric Trappier, suggested he felt as if he was “writing a new page for the RAFALE, which I am certain will give the Croatian Air Force com- plete satisfaction, while actively contributing to the exercise of Croatia’s national sovereignty.” Dubai 2021: EDGE and IAI To Collaborate The defence industries of Israel and the United Arab Emirates have been quick to embrace the opportunities provided by normalisation of relations between the two countries, following the August 2020 Abraham Accords, and firms have been using the Dubai Airshow in November to announce new strategic partnerships. EDGE Group, the conglomerate made up of more than 20 UAE-based advanced technology firms, signed two MoUs with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on 18 November at the airshow. One will see the two en- tities collaborating on a series of new 17m unmanned surface vessels (USV), with the ADSB shipyard the EDGE entity leading the work; the oth- er will establish a maintenance centre in the UAE for a selection of’ (IAI) advanced optronics systems and surveillance payloads, from which the systems will be marketed locally. No timescales, contract values or poten- tial end-users have been specified for either project. Faisal Al Bannai, EDGE Group’s CEO and Managing Director, explained “It is an important milestone for EDGE to forge collaborations with lead- ing defence players such as IAI to strengthen our advanced technology portfolio. Through this strategic alliance, we can ensure optimal autono- mous operational solutions that minimise risk to human life, address key challenges for various industries, and enable a secure future for all. These The 12 RAFALEs will replace aging MiG-21s, which no longer meet Croatia’s air defence requirements. (Photo: Dassault Aviation) The signing of the unmanned vessel agreement at the Dubai Airshow. (Right to left) Boaz Levy, President and CEO, IAI; Yehuda Lahav, EVP Marketing, IAI; David Massey, CEO, ADSB; Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and MD, EDGE. (Photo: IAI) Kronstadt is developing technology that uses AI to allow swarms of UAVs to conduct missions autonomously – including target engagements. (Photo: Russian MoD)