U.S. Military Is Struggling to Deploy AI Weapons
Story by Shelby Holliday, Heather Somerville, Brenna T. Smith • 9h
An ambitious Pentagon plan to field thousands of cutting-edge drones to prepare for a potential conflict with China has fallen short of its goal, and the military has struggled to figure out how to use some of the systems in the field, according to people familiar with the matter.
The effort, launched two years ago as a way to quickly buy low-cost autonomous weapons to counter China’s growing military capabilities, is now being shifted to a new organization over concerns it isn’t moving fast enough, the people said.
The move reflects frustrations over setbacks in the program known as Replicator, a signature effort of the Biden administration’s Pentagon that aimed to deliver thousands of air-, land-, and sea-based AI systems by August 2025. Then-Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the program in 2023 with the promise of technology that would be “small, smart, cheap.”
While Hicks requested $1 billion over two years for Replicator, some lawmakers have called for billions of dollars more in spending, arguing the total needs to be far higher to ensure success.
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