Answer the questions in your journal.

1. Which contemporary issue interested you the most, and why? (M424)

• Define
• Explain
• Personal Experience

1. What do you think is another contemporary issue the army will face that wasn't mentioned in this lesson? (M424)

• Define
• Explain
• Personal Experience

USE THE BELOW READING TO ANSWER THE 2 QUESTIONS ABOVE. PLEASE USE FORMAT BELOW.

• Define
• Explain
• Personal Experience

Contemporary Issues

Today's Army is the most well-equipped and responsive in history. As for many things the Army is doing right in creating an elite fighting force the military continues to face contemporary issues daily. Discuss the following topics in today's current news: robots on the battlefield, losing air superiority, national security, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence.

Robots On The Battlefield

How soon will robots replace Soldiers on the battlefield?

Further Analysis

From the spears hurled by Romans to the missiles launched by fighter pilots, the weapons humans use to kill each other have always been subject to improvement. Militaries seek to make each one ever-more lethal and, in doing so, better protect the soldier who wields it. In the next evolution of combat, the U.S. Army is heading down a path that may lead humans off the battlefield entirely.

Over the next few years, the Pentagon is poised to spend almost $1 billion for a range of robots designed to complement combat troops. Beyond scouting and explosives disposal, these new machines will sniff out hazardous chemicals or other agents, perform complex reconnaissance and even carry a soldier's gear.

"Within five years, I have no doubt there will be robots in every Army formation," said Bryan McVeigh, the Army's project manager for force protection. He touted a record 800 robots fielded over the past 18 months. "We're going from talking about robots to actually building and fielding programs," he said. "This is an exciting time to be working on robots with the Army."

The Pentagon has split its robot platforms into light, medium and heavy categories. In April, the Army awarded a $429.1 million contract to two Massachusetts companies, Endeavor Robotics of Chelmsford and Waltham-based QinetiQ North America, for small bots weighing fewer than 25 pounds. This spring, Endeavor also landed two contracts worth $34 million from the Marine Corps for small and midsized robots.

In October, the Army awarded Endeavor $158.5 million for a class of more than 1,200 medium robots, called the Man-Transportable Robotic System, Increment II, weighing less than 165 pounds. The MTRS robot, designed to detect explosives as well as chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear threats, is scheduled to enter service by late summer 2019. The Army plans to determine its needs for a larger, heavier class of robot later this year.

While proponents may argue that autonomous robot soldiers will shield soldiers from harm, they will also remove the bloody consequences of armed conflict, a knowledge that "puts a valuable brake on the horrors of war," said Scharre, a former Army Ranger.

Losing Air Superiority

How can the U.S. military maintain air superiority?

he asymmetric advantage that the U.S. military possesses and that has prevented enemy aircraft attacks on American ground forces since April 15, 1953 is eroding. The U.S. faces a reemergence of great power competition, and although we have maintained air superiority since the Korean War, it has to be fought for and won. Fifth-generation aircraft with stealth capability are required to survive in today's air defenses, and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is the only active fifth-generation fighter production line among friendly nations. It is time to procure what is needed to protect our troops.

Air superiority ensures quicker victories and, perhaps, prevents war in the first place. Parity diminishes detente leading to protracted ground wars with massive casualties on both sides. Theater commanders have grown accustomed to operating with air superiority. Army, Marine Corps and allied ground forces can concentrate on the battle at hand and do not have to look up when they hear aircraft above.

During the Gulf War, allied fighters, tankers, surveillance aircraft and bombers enjoyed freedom of movement in the skies, and coalition forces capitalized with unhindered ground movements while we were able to attack the enemy at will from the air.

We need to remove the presumption that the U.S. will maintain air superiority into the foreseeable future without drastic changes. We are on track to lose this capability within the next 10-15 years.

America has rising near-peer competitors, and its outdated fourth-generation aircraft are outclassed and in some theaters, outnumbered by its competitors. Given its grave implications, parity is not an acceptable goal in warfare. Russia and China are catching up in fifth-generation fighters and cybersecurity, and they have already surpassed the U.S. in hypersonic missiles and technology. The Air Force has the oldest, smallest and least-ready force in its 70-year history. It is weary after 27 continuous years of combat operations, dating back to the beginning of the Gulf War. Since 1991's Gulf War, the Air Force has drawn down from 134 to only 55 fighter squadrons. They need 70 to deter aggressors and, if needed, to win decisively. Including training, tests and backup aircraft, they need approximately 2,100 fighter aircraft.

Losing air superiority is not an option. We can't take air superiority for granted because, without control of the skies, all military endeavors are at risk. Air superiority 10 years from now must deal simultaneously with air, space and cyberspace domains. Airmen must exploit information, knowledge and decision capabilities, and the Air Force needs to rapidly develop the tools for all three domains. Anything less is unfair to our airmen, our ground war fighters and our taxpayers.

What affect will the five greatest threats have on U.S. National Security?

A Conflict with China over the South China Sea

Although President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China have a good personal relationship, tensions between our two nations are significant and growing. Aside from any economic developments, there is real potential for a military conflict between the U.S. and China in 2019. If conflict breaks out, it will almost certainly focus on the South China Sea.

Determined to construct an imperial empire based on control of sea lanes and to attain a veto over the political choices of his neighbors, Xi is exerting an aggressive military posture. While the U.S. is challenging these efforts with increasing naval and air patrols through the contested areas, a miscalculation or Chinese escalation could lead to a broader conflict. It is crucial to note here that Xi is determined to see China lead a new post-American international order. He will not back down easily, nor shy from risks.

North Korea Brinkmanship

I believe that U.S.-North Korea tensions will escalate this year. While Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have held another summit, the North Korean leadership is indicating that it is unlikely to offer meaningful concessions. The absence of those concessions will mean that the U.S. can offer no sanctions relief to Pyongyang. The North Koreans need that relief.

What will North Korea do then? I suspect Kim will conduct another missile test. That test will be designed to win U.S. appeasement of Pyongyang, but also to advance North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile program. If a new test does occur, the U.S. will have to impose new sanctions. A U.S. military strike on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure will also become more likely. That risks a new Korean War.

Russian Attacks on U.S. Interests

As a near peer adversary, Russia continues to develop its ability to contest NATO in war. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis helped to fill in the alliance's weaknesses, Vladimir Putin's threat will remain very real this year. The Russian leader is determined to rebuild a Soviet-style architecture of deference to Moscow among Russia's neighbor states. As those states grow closer to the west, Putin will have to choose between tolerating that movement or confronting it more directly. All signs suggest he will choose some kind of confrontation. U.S. allies must do more to help deter and defeat this threat.

Major Terrorist Attacks

The Islamic State may have lost much of its territory, but experienced fighters and commanders remain operational and determined to continue their war. The threat of a major attack on U.S. or allied interests remains significant. Other groups such as Al Qaeda also prioritize attacking the West. In addition, Iranian terrorist operatives-proxies remain active in Europe and around the world. In the worst-case scenario, it remains possible, albeit unlikely, that terrorists would access and use a weapon of mass destruction.

An Enveloping Conflict in The Middle East

As a rogue nation, Iran continues to grow in power and ambition in Syria, hardliner elements in Tehran will likely escalate their campaigns against the Sunni-Arab monarchies and Israel. Those nations are likely to reciprocate the aggression in kind. If, for example, an Iran-proxy missile attack causes casualties in northern Israel or Riyadh, major retaliation might follow. That risks a broader war which reverberates through Lebanon, Iraq, and against direct U.S. interests. Escalated U.S. balance of power efforts are critical.

How can you protect against cyber-attacks?

Nations at Cyberwar

Perhaps it will begin with a skirmish rather than a major battle, but I predict that low-level cyberwarfare among the world's most powerful players the United States, China and Russia will increasingly destabilize international relations and threaten to upset the world order. This goes behind voting machines, registered voter databases and other election-related technology. Remember when a Russian cyberattack days before Christmas in 2015? I believe similar scenarios will occur with increasing frequency.

With digital technology wherever we look and the explosion of the internet of things, the possibilities of cyber-mayhem are limitless. Think of nuclear reactors, chemical plants and satellites in space all are potentially vulnerable targets. State-sponsored attacks can come in all sizes, and many will likely be launched as warning shots. But in times of cyberwar, you don't need to drop bombs to wipe out a country's infrastructure. All it takes is a few expert hackers.

Supply-Chain Attacks Rise

Cybercriminals are diabolically savvy, and they realize that the easiest route to high-profile targets is through that organization's network of suppliers and contractors. In 2019 supply-chain attacks will escalate as large corporations, which have enough trouble safeguarding assets already, open themselves up to greater risk as they grow their reliance on partnerships. The results can be catastrophic. The infamous 2013 Target breach was the result of an attack that had its origins through the retailer's HVAC vendor.

Even more cautionary, perhaps, is the recent Bloomberg coverage on computer hardware manufacturer Super Micro. While the company along with Apple, Amazon, the Department of Homeland Security and others denies Chinese spies implanted secret chips on its motherboards as a means of cyber espionage to gather intelligence, Super Micro's stock price plummeted temporarily as a result. In any case, the potential impact from a similar situation is clear, and Bloomberg's story woke up unsuspecting tech manufacturers like a shot of adrenaline straight to the hear.

Because of these abundant dangers, many companies that rely on partners and third parties have created vendor risk management processes within their organizations. These can include policies around constant monitoring and log access and retention, which may sound difficult to meet but are already part of many regulatory compliance frameworks. Vendor risk management teams within organizations will become more commonplace as supply-chain attacks increase.

Cybersecurity Raises its Profile in the Boardroom

In 2019, cybersecurity concerns will be a major topic in the boardroom and executive offices of every significant enterprise. Major data breaches suffered by leading firms across industries has struck fear into CEOs and other officers and board members that their company could be next. What's more, partners, shareholders and customers now seek to hold corporate leaders ultimately responsible, and that sentiment is only heightened internally within organizations.

As the damages from breaches continue to become more evident a lower bottom line, a plunging stock price, a tainted brand responsibility for cybersecurity failures will go beyond the CIO's and CISO's oversight of the IT department and directly to the CEO's office door. Many board discussions will revolve around mitigating cyber risks and how they can improve their organization's security posture.

All Take an Enterprise Approach to Cybersecurity

Cybercriminals are equal-opportunity attackers. While breaches within huge corporations like Target and Equifax consume the headlines, businesses of every size are under attack, especially in industries like healthcare, law and finance which, by trade, store and manage vast amounts of sensitive data. In 2019, smaller firms will enlist the same cybersecurity approaches that large enterprises use. This means leveraging the benefits of a robust security operations center.

No longer willing to be a hacker's low hanging fruit, small to midsize businesses and small enterprises will find ways to monitor and detect threats and respond when necessary. The impetus to do so will be accelerated by larger organizations, which will demand that businesses they work with meet certain cybersecurity standards. So, there's both a carrot and a stick leading this new approach. In the end, hackers today are developing more sophisticated attacks than ever before and 2019 will pit many ongoing battles. The good news is that companies today recognize the threats they face and are increasingly discovering new ways to better protect themselves.

How soon will autonomous vehicles be driven on the battlefield?

The Army wants 70 self-driving supply trucks by 2020 and is ready for unmanned vehicles but not yet for a completely unmanned convoy. The 2020 iteration is called Expedient Leader-Follower because the Army still wants a human soldier driving the lead vehicle, with up to nine autonomous trucks following in its trail. Oshkosh and Robotic Research has mentioned that they could take the humans out altogether, when the Army wants this to happen. If you find self-driving cars impressive today, think about Army trucks that can drive themselves off-road, in a war zone, less than three years from now. The self-driving trucks may still have soldiers in them and able to switch to human control if necessary or, alternatively, to let the truck handle the driving while they watch for ambushes and shoot back at attackers.

For all the Army's embrace of high technology, the service still wants the lead vehicle in the convoy to have a human driver, at least at first. The unmanned trucks that follow behind will need to stick to the trail without relying on street signs, lane markings, pavement, or GPS. They might not even have a clear line of sight to the vehicle ahead of them, which may turn a corner in a city or disappear into a cloud of dust driving cross-country. En route, they have to avoid not only pedestrians, animals, and vehicles, like civilian self-driving cars, but also rubble, rocks, trees, and shell holes. They have to avoid solid obstacles without stopping every time they see tall grass, a low-hanging branch, or a dust cloud in their path the kind of common-sense distinction that's easy for humans but very hard for computer vision.

The Army is confident it can be done. Army Secretary Mark Esper has publicly raved about the technology after riding in a prototype, saying it could both free up manpower for the front line most troops work on logistics and maintenance, not in combat units and save lives from roadside bombs and ambushes to which supply convoys are particularly vulnerable.

After years of tinkering, the Army has accelerated its Automated Ground Resupply program by spinning off something called the Expedient Leader-Follower demonstration. Contractors are currently installing Robotic Research LLC's computer brains and sensors on 10 Oshkosh M1075 PLS (Palletized Loader System) trucks that'll be used for safety certification tests in 2019. They'll convert 60 more to self-driving vehicles in time to equip two Army transportation companies in 2020.

In a recent interview, Alberto Lacaze, President of Robotic Research said, while the two units' main job will be to demonstrate that the technology works in field conditions, if they get called to deploy, they will deploy with the vehicles and this could happen fairly quickly.

Pat Williams, Vice President, for Army and Marine Corps programs at Oshkosh Defense said, the large-scale demo starts in 2020 and is still a moving target based mainly on how 2019's safety testing goes. It's the Army's call on whether to compress the timeline, but there's interest in pulling that left where possible. That's all part of the operational concepts the Army wants to work out in the 2020 demonstration.

What is the future of artificial intelligence in the Army?

The Army is investing $72 million in a five-year Artificial Intelligence (AI) fundamental research effort to research and discover capabilities that would significantly enhance mission effectiveness across the Army by augmenting Soldiers, optimizing operations, increasing readiness, and reducing casualties.

The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC), Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the U.S. Army's corporate laboratory, announced that Carnegie Mellon University will lead a consortium of multiple universities to work in collaboration with the Army lab to accelerate research and development of advanced algorithms, autonomy and artificial intelligence to enhance national security and defense. By integrating transformational research from top academic institutions across the US with the operational expertise and mission focused research from within CCDC, the Army will be able to drastically accelerate the impact of Battlefield AI.

"Tackling difficult science and technology challenges is rarely done alone and there is no greater challenge or opportunity facing the Army than Artificial Intelligence," said Dr. Philip Perconti, director of the Army's corporate laboratory. "That's why ARL is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University, which will lead a consortium of universities to study AI. The Army is looking forward to making great advances in AI research to ensure readiness today and to enhance the Army's modernization priorities for the future.

This Cooperative Agreement for fundamental research was formed as a result of collaboration that initially started between the Army Research Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon under ARL's "Open Campus" initiative, which Carnegie Mellon joined earlier in 2018. Carnegie Mellon and the team of academic research institutions will focus on fundamental research to develop robust operational AI solutions to enable autonomous processing, exploitation, and dissemination of intelligence and other critical, operational, decision-support activities, and to support the increased integration of autonomy and robotics as part of highly effective human-machine teams.

"For almost 30 years, the Army Research Laboratory has been at the forefront of bold initiatives that foster greater collaboration with U.S. universities," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "At this time of accelerating innovation, Carnegie Mellon is eager to partner with ARL and with universities across the nation to leverage the power of artificial intelligence and better serve the Army mission in the 21st century.

In support of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), AI is a "crucial technology to enhance situational awareness and accelerate the realization of timely and actionable information that can save lives," said Andrew Ladas, who leads ARL's Army Artificial Intelligence Innovation Institute (A2I2). Through this work, he said researchers expect to achieve automated sense making, or the ability for AI to recognize scenes and generate real-time, actionable correlations, insights and information for humans.

An adversary with AI capabilities could mean new threats to military platforms including human in the loop platforms, or technologies that require human interaction, and autonomous platforms.

"The changing complexity of future conflict will present never-seen-before situations wrought with noisy, incomplete and deceptive tactics designed to defeat AI algorithms," said Andrew Ladas. "Success in this battlefield intelligence race will be achieved by increasing AI capabilities as well as uncovering unique and effective ways to merge AI with Soldier knowledge and intelligence.

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Answer Journal Entry Contemporary Issues and the Future of the Army Contemporary Issue Robots on the Battlefield Define The integration of robotic technology into military operations with the aim of c... View the full answer