Status quo and perspectives of the military use of unmanned systems. Summary

Abstract

Unmanned systems (UMS) have become comprehensively and firmly established in many armed forces. They open up cost, effectiveness and security advantages in important dimensions of the military capability spectrum or open up new options on the battlefield. These include, for example, longer missions compared to manned systems, reduced risk to soldiers or the possibility of comprehensive reconnaissance in high-risk operational environments. The development of EMS is linked to advances in numerous fields of technology and opens up economic potential that goes beyond the military sphere. However, at the latest since thousands of airborne armed drones were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, EMS are also associated with challenges in terms of security, arms control policy and international law. The TAB report describes the state of development and military use of unmanned air, land and sea systems in the national and international context and provides an overview of current and future key technologies for the development of EMS. In addition, it addresses the economic dimension of unmanned systems in the defence and civilian submarkets of the national and international economic system, in order to analyse the civilian innovation and deployment potential of EMS on this basis. The report also places unmanned systems in the legal framework provided by arms and arms export control treaties as well as international legal norms and takes stock of the current treaties with regard to their relevance for EMS in order to conclude by identifying the need for political and social information and discussion