Vanguard Magazine

ArMY www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2020 15 link to the enemy. Micro-targeting will thus be achievable with precise fixing and striking of the enemy, before contact in the physical plane. A more important impact on the fun- damentals of Army operations will be the commander's significant increase in Shared Awareness (SA). With the help of autono- mous analysis of the sensory information, AI will be capable of implementing decen- tralized decision making autonomously and instantly deliver the most relevant and precise SA to the command staff. Com- manders will be capable of making assisted decisions to continue winning in the bat- tlespace. ADO will be managed with the help of AI systems and agents that can mitigate the dispersion of the enemy with the help of its sensors, while delivering de- tailed fix and strike effects. Notwithstand- ing, the human command will be critical for the success of the mission through SA, as highlighted in Waypoint 2018, "The centrepiece of ADO remains the Canadian soldier, but the key enabler is its network." Operational Functions The five operational functions will contin- ue to form the fundamental framework of Army operations. Moreover, operational functions Sense and Act will evolve to be the strongest functions enabled by AI and autonomous agents. As AI becomes well integrated into our force structure and gains deep learning capabilities and the ability to conduct large-scale self- organization, human soldiers will have a very minor role to play in the sense and act functions. The Shield function will be shared be- tween humans and AI agents in the physi- cal and moral plane, leaving autonomous machines to provide the necessary protec- tion for its survivability and freedom of action. In the information environment, cyber defence will play a pivoting role in the protection of AI systems in its most vulnerable plane. As fewer human soldiers will exist on the battlefield, the Sustain function will evolve to exist in the information plane significantly more than the physical and moral plane. The provision of materiel and personnel support will become less of a requirement. Sustainment of AI agents on the other hand will require specific expertise that may be beyond the future soldier's technical competency. As such, soldiers will either be required to gain technical robotics, programming, and mechanical skills or DND will see the de- pendence on contractors and commercial services for the maintenance, training, and re-generation of AI systems. Additionally, the requirement for first-line support may no longer exist as AI systems will be ca- pable of self-diagnosing and self-healing. Finally, the centre of gravity of the future battlefield will remain the Command func- tion. It will be here that the human com- manders' role will be critical in shaping mission command and integrating all the other functions into the strategic, opera- tional, and tactical levels of the battle. Af- ter all, command is the creative expression of the human will necessary to accomplish a mission, and although the commander will be enabled in the decision-making process, it is the human will that will help in achieving the end state. The Human Dimension An important question looms in the dis- cussion of AI in defence: Will there be a requirement for humans in the battlefield of the future? Contrary to Hollywood and science fiction depiction, most certainly FORCE PROTECTION IS OUR MISSION. www.rheinmetall.ca THE HX – MORE THAN JUST A TRUCK In operations both at home and abroad, modern armed forces depend on assured, round-the-clock mobility and reliable logistics. Robustness, versatility, and functionality are the most important performance criteria–no matter how bad the roads or how difficult the terrain. The latest generation of HX vehicles from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles meets all of these criteria and is well suited to meet the requirements of the Canadian Enhanced Recovery Capability and Logistic Vehicle Modernization projects. FORCEENABLER A0321e0520_Rh Canada_Force Enabler-spec_177,8x117,4.indd 1 18.05.20 13:06

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