US needs a hi-tech revolution to combat China, says General Mark Milley
- Military must adapt to ‘fundamental change’ under way in the character of war
- Joint Chiefs of Staff head wants smaller, more capable forces which fully embrace robotics and artificial intelligence
“We are in the middle of a fundamental change in the character of war,” he told the Defence Forum Washington online symposium at the US Naval Institute on Thursday.
Milley cited the spread of precision-guided munitions, drones and other robotic equipment, and advanced satellite communications, and said those who mastered them best would be “decisive” in war.
“Our ability to sense is unbelievable. We can see the world today as you could never see it before. We can reach out and we can track, see, identify,” he said, adding that with long-range precision munitions, if you can see it, “you can hit it. This is fundamental. And this has a huge impact on the future of combat”.
“If you put in artificial intelligence and you do man-machine teaming, add that to robotics, put in precision munitions and the ability to sense and see, throw in a few hypersonic weapons, and you’ve got a fundamental shift” in the global battlefield, he said.
Milley said robotic weapons would be ubiquitous within 10 or 15 years, with China rapidly developing such capabilities.
“They would like to not only match us but exceed us, dominate us, be able to beat us in armed conflict by mid-century.”
