Publication

This brief discusses the issue of weapons systems which operate autonomously and what would be required for a successful campaign against their further development and use. The author first addresses the question of defining the threshold at which a weapon system is deemed to be ‘fully autonomous’. He then looks at a case study of the Brimstone anti-tank missile to demonstrate the ambiguous autonomous status of weapon technologies. Finally, he examines the issues faced by campaigners and policy makers who wish to stop the development of autonomous weapons programs.