Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) has always remained central to the idea of warfare and human evolution. The RMA is the active blueprint for the contemporary revolution in global security. Traditionally, RMA focused on smart bombs, weapons, computerisation, long-range weapons, precision and destruction.

However, RMA 2.0 or the AI-RMA is mainly defined by the shift from human-led precision to machine-led autonomy. This includes Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber and electronic warfare, cognitive warfare, quantum computing, space weaponisation, and autonomous systems. Theorists are of the opinion that the pace of RMA in both theoretical and technological domains has changed the landscape and rulebook of contemporary warfare. The influence of RMA can be broken down into four transformative shifts.

Initially, RMA (articulated in the 1990s) revolved around the notion of quality. RMA 2.0 considers speed as a game-changer. Resultantly, warfare is moving towards a “human-out-of-the-loop” framework. The ability to engage targets at “machine speed” has rendered traditional human-centric decision cycles too slow to survive technological advancement. Despite all the technological development, human judgement still leads the course of war. Theorists believe that technology is still not a substitute for human control.

AI and autonomous systems can compress reaction time, but the absence of human oversight transforms deterrence into automation rather than decision. The threat of speed and machine precision has intensified the already complex security dilemma........

© The Friday Times