Hicks made the big reveal at the National Defense Industrial Association‘s emerging technologies conference in Washington, D.C.
She said the autonomous weapons would help counter the vast military resources of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as Beijing bulks up its defense and security.
“We’ll counter the PLA’s mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, harder to beat,” Hicks said at the Monday conference.
Under the Replicator program, the Defense Department will produce thousands of self-operating drones and similar autonomous systems in the next 18 to 24 months.
The news is likely to spur some concerns from human rights groups and activists who have long warned against the combat deployment of fully autonomous weapons without a human check.
The International Red Cross, for example, recommends against deploying autonomous systems that can use force against human beings.
The Pentagon updated its guidelines on autonomous systems in January, urging a comprehensive review of weapons systems before deployment and an “appropriate levels of human judgement” before use of force.
Hicks will oversee the Replicator Initiative along with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Grady and Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit.
Hicks said the Pentagon will work to meet ethical guidelines through the Replicator program.
“These capabilities will be developed and fielded in line with our responsible and ethical approach to AI and autonomous systems,” she said.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
