The battlefield is undergoing a quiet revolution, particularly in how firepower is delivered. Missiles, rockets, and artillery – the traditional long arms of land warfare – are increasingly shedding their human crews. This shift towards autonomous fire support systems is not a distant concept but an accelerating trend, driven by the harsh realities of modern conflict and enabled by rapid technological advancements.
From defense exhibitions showcasing futuristic concepts to real-world deployments demonstrating strategic impact, a clear picture emerges: unmanned systems are already assuming some missions and, if proven effective, could reshape the future of multi-domain operations. This article explores the key trends revealed through these global activities, highlighting how autonomy is becoming central to survivability, operational effectiveness, and the evolution of military doctrines.
The Imperative for Autonomy – Survivability
The primary catalyst for the autonomous fires revolution is the brutal demand for survivability on increasingly transparent and lethal battlefields. Lessons learned, particularly from conflicts like the one in Ukraine, starkly illustrate the vulnerability of traditional, crewed artillery and its supply chain, both in position and on the move, to rapid detection and counterattack, often facilitated by ubiquitous drones and loitering weapons. This has created an urgent imperative to remove personnel from the direct line of fire. Automating the firing and reloading processes directly contributes to improved survivability by reducing human exposure. Unmanned systems, capable of rapid “shoot-and-scoot” maneuvers without pausing to secure a crew, offer a direct answer to this challenge.
Evolving Doctrines
Robotic and autonomous artillery systems have roles in all types of warfare, including asymmetric conflicts, near-peer, and peer warfare. Simultaneously, evolving military doctrines like the U.S. Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) and the Army’s Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) demand forces that are distributed, mobile, resilient, and capable of operating within contested enemy territory. Autonomous platforms are essential enablers for these concepts, making the deployment of significant firepower to dispersed, high-risk forward locations feasible by minimizing human risk.
The strategic impact was vividly demonstrated by the USMC’s deployment of the unmanned NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) anti-ship system to the Philippines’ Luzon Strait during Exercise Balikatan 2025. NMESIS uniquely pairs the versatile, unmanned Oshkosh ROGUE-Fires UGV with long-range Naval Strike Missiles, providing a land-based anti-ship capability crucial for EABO’s sea denial mission. This activity showcased the ability to project relevant A2/AD capabilities from expeditionary land bases, directly supporting EABO principles and sending clear strategic signals, arguably made more palatable by the system’s unmanned nature. The Corps has deployed new mobile air defense (MADIS) drone-killing vehicles to protect these strategic assets from loitering weapons attacks.
Technological Enablers
Significant technological advancements fulfill these operational needs. Sophisticated robotics, AI, secure communications, and mature drive-by-wire vehicle architectures establish the foundation. A key trend observed in development and experimentation, such as with Lockheed Martin’s Autonomous HIMARS (AML) tests, focuses on applying electro-optical sensor suites for navigation and perception. The AML aims to replicate the proven firepower of HIMARS on an unmanned chassis, uniquely emphasizing autonomous operation using stealthy, passive sensors to enhance survivability. AML experiments reflect the maturing of autonomous capabilities in navigation, convoy operations, and executing fire missions, often within a Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) framework.
The Path to Autonomous Artillery
The path to full autonomy often follows an evolutionary trajectory. The Swedish truck-mounted Archer SPH was the first to introduce an autonomous gun turret. The IDF is also fielding a new 10×10 truck-mounted SPH called Roem, with an autonomous gun turret developed by Elbit Systems. Systems like Hanwha’s K9A2 Thunder Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) feature automated turrets that reduce the crew size from five to three while increasing the rate of fire. KNDS’s RCH155 mounts a fully automated, unmanned 155mm gun module onto a highly mobile Boxer 8×8 chassis. Its unique capability allows operation by just two crew members, safely housed in the drive module, with the system even capable of firing on the move. The Chinese company Norinco has recently introduced the SH-16 SPH, which can be utilized in human or autonomous modes of operation.
It is important to note that automation can sometimes result in a slower process compared to an experienced and highly motivated human team. Therefore, expectations for automated processes should focus on overall performance benefits – enhanced survivability, sustained firing rates, and achieving the desired effect on the target – rather than just comparing the cycle time of an autonomous howitzer to that of a human-operated system. These automated systems pave the way for fully unmanned successors, such as the conceptual K9A3 Thunder, which aims for full autonomy and an extended range, or future autonomous versions of the RCH155, which can fire on the move practically.
Logistics, Teaming, and Beyond
Defense exhibitions provide a window into this evolution. We see concepts pushing towards full autonomy (K9A3), adaptable platforms like the ROGUE-Fires shown in multiple roles, and even the integration of legacy systems onto robotic platforms. A forward-looking trend, highlighted in KNDS’s concepts, is the move towards automating the entire logistics chain, specifically through the combined deployment of robotic howitzer carriers and autonomous resupply vehicles, operating in a distributed manner to minimize exposure. This concept recognizes that sustaining high-tempo fires requires automating support functions beyond just reloading the guns. Furthermore, concepts like Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T), tested in exercises with systems like AML, explore how autonomy can act as a force multiplier, allowing smaller crews to control more assets.
The Way Ahead
The shift towards autonomous missiles, rockets, and artillery is a defining trend in modern land warfare, clearly visible through global defense activities. Driven by the urgent need for enhanced survivability on lethal battlefields and the requirements of new operational doctrines like EABO and MDO, this transformation is enabled by rapid technological progress in robotics, AI, and sensors. Key trends revealed include a clear evolution from crew-reducing automation to fully unmanned platforms, emphasizing stealth through passive sensing, developing flexible, multi-role unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and nascent efforts to automate logistics, particularly ammunition resupply. Real-world deployments and exercises are proving the operational viability and strategic impact of these systems. While there are challenges in logistics, command, control, and cybersecurity, the trajectory is clear: autonomous systems are becoming integral to delivering decisive firepower effectively and survivable across the multi-domain battlefield.
Originally published The Autonomous Artillery Revolution: Reshaping Modern Firepower on by https://defense-update.com/20250502_autonomous-artillery.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=autonomous-artillery at Defense Update
Originally published Defense Update
