From Boots on the Ground to Robots on the Battlefield
A veteran’s perspective on unmanned systems, human judgment and the changing nature of military operations
Recently, I travelled to CFB Petawawa with the MINERVA program for a military demonstration focused on the employment of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) on the modern battlefield.
The event brought together military personnel, technology companies, defence contractors, engineers, and industry professionals. Underneath all the demonstrations was a practical question: what will it take to fight and survive on the battlefield of tomorrow?
Walking through the demonstration, I couldn’t help but think about my own time in the military.
A Familiar Battlefield, but Not the Same
There was something familiar about being back around military equipment, personnel, and conversations about tactics and operations. At the same time, the battlefield being demonstrated was almost unrecognizable compared with the one I knew.
Unmanned systems can extend what soldiers are able to see, reach, carry, and accomplish without requiring a person to be physically present for every task. Small UAS can provide surveillance from above, while larger platforms can carry more sophisticated sensors and payloads. Ground robots can enter dangerous areas, transport equipment, or perform tasks that might otherwise expose soldiers to additional risk.
What interested me most was not any one platform. It was how these systems could work together.
A drone might detect something from above. A ground system could move in for a closer look. Another platform might add information from a different sensor. That information can then move between systems until it reaches the operator who has to decide what to do with it.
The Operator’s Role
What stayed with me was the operator’s role. These systems could collect and combine an extraordinary amount of information, but someone still had to decide what it meant. The technology had changed dramatically; the responsibility had not.
More technology means more information, but more information does not automatically create better understanding. Someone still has to determine what matters, recognize when a system may be wrong, and act when the situation no longer matches the plan.
That becomes even more important as systems gain greater levels of autonomy. It is easy to leave a demonstration like this thinking that the future of warfare will be completely autonomous, with a human simply on the loop. I’m not convinced it is that simple.
The future battlefield may contain far more machines than the battlefield I remember, but that does not necessarily make it less human. In some ways, it may make human judgment even more important.
Seeing It Through the Eyes of a Veteran
I wasn’t looking at these systems only as a technology professional or industry observer. I was also looking at them as someone who spent 35 years in the military.
I remembered what it was like to operate with limited information. We called it the
fog of war. A great deal of effort could go into simply seeing what was happening beyond your immediate position. You had to understand what was around you, communicate with the people around you, and make decisions with imperfect information.
Standing at Petawawa years later and watching unmanned systems perform some of those functions was a powerful reminder of how quickly things can change.
The fundamental problems of the battlefield haven’t disappeared. People still need information, mobility, and protection. They still have to make decisions under pressure. What is changing is the technology available to help them do those things.
Many of the technologies being demonstrated are not part of some distant future. They are already here. The challenge now is not simply to build better platforms. It is to integrate them into doctrine, training, command structures, communications networks, logistics, and the work of the people who will actually use them.
Technology alone does not win battles. The advantage comes from knowing how to use it better than the other side.
Looking Back and Looking Forward
As I left the demonstration, I found myself thinking about how different the military I experienced might look to someone entering service today. A soldier entering today has always had the internet.
The uniforms may look familiar. The terminology may sound familiar. The mission may still be recognizable. But the tools available to the person standing on the ground could be radically different.
I went to the demonstration expecting to see new technology. I didn’t expect it to make me reflect so much on the technology and limitations I experienced during my own service.
I’ve always used the same mantra:
“If you give me a stick, I’m a stick fighter. If you give me a knife, I’m a knife fighter. They’re only tools.”
The tools available to today’s soldiers may be radically different, but it is still the person using them who has to understand the mission, adapt to the situation, and make the decision. The people who serve will evolve with the tools they are given, just as we did.
What felt novel at Petawawa may eventually seem as ordinary to the next generation of service members as the equipment I once relied on seemed to me. The battlefield of tomorrow is already being demonstrated today.
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