Ensuring Lawful Use of Autonomous Weapons An Operational Perspective

The use of autonomous weapons systems ('AWS') is the source of extensive discussions within the international legal community and beyond. After years of discussing definitions, the discourse is slowly moving on to discuss AWS in light of existing law of armed conflict (`LOAc') rules. This article aims to support these discussions by providing a military legal perspective. AWS offers great potential benefits to both soldiers and civilians, and control mechanisms already in place for military operations may be employed to define when and how AWS can lawfully be used. AWS can reduce the exposure of soldiers to dull, dirty and dangerous environments and the risk of incidental civilian harm. To exploit these potentials and ensure legality, regulators need to understand how military forces employ and control the use of force to support their operations, and military planners and decision-makers need to understand the limits of and possibilities within LOAc.