Germany’s army chief on AI, drones and the future of the tank | The Economist

Strategic Priorities and Capability Gaps

• German land forces are prioritizing rapid improvement in five specific capability areas:
  • Indirect fires: Expanding capabilities to include artillery, loitering munitions, and deep strike operations ranging from 100 to 1,000 kilometers (tactical deep to strategic range).
  • Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (Counter-UAS): Enhancing defense against aerial drone threats.
  • Electronic Warfare: Increasing focus on electromagnetic warfare spectrum dominance.
  • Manned-Unmanned Teaming: Integrating unmanned systems directly into manned force structures.
  • AI-Enabled Command and Control (C2): Developing artificial intelligence to augment decision-making processes.

Legacy Systems and the Tank's Future Role

• The speaker rejects the term "legacy systems" in favor of systems required to take and hold ground, maintaining that physical presence remains the core task of land forces.
• Future armored vehicles must evolve into "motherships" that function as both command centers and controllers for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
• A dual-capability requirement is identified: tanks must retain direct fire capabilities for close-quarters engagement while maintaining long-to-medium range operational reach.
• The speaker asserts a firm stance against a fully unmanned future, arguing that human decision-makers remain essential for judging fire exploitation and moral/legal constraints.
• Current debates highlight a shift toward using UGVs for logistics, resupply, and fire support, yet the human crew remains a critical differentiator for high-intensity, 1v1 combat scenarios.

Data as a Critical Asset

• Data is characterized as equivalent to ammunition, necessitating immediate stockpiling and strategic management.
• The primary challenge on the modern battlefield has shifted from information scarcity to the handling of massive data volumes generated by ubiquitous sensors across air, ground, and space domains.
• Human processing speeds are deemed insufficient for current data loads, requiring an immediate shift toward automated data exploitation via Artificial Intelligence.
• A "digital backbone" is identified as a critical infrastructure requirement to assemble, integrate, and analyze sensor data from diverse platforms.
• The objective of this data backbone is to accelerate decision-making cycles significantly beyond current capabilities, a transition described as urgent and high-priority for future defense platforms.

NATO Context and Strategic Trends

• The debate over balancing emerging technology with legacy capabilities is currently unsettled within NATO armies, evidenced by high-profile resignations in the UK defense ministry over perceived lack of innovation.
• Specific UK criticisms cited include insufficient focus on drones, autonomy, and the overall future viability of current defense plans.
• While a "high-low mix" is widely agreed upon as a necessary strategic balance, no specific numerical ratio or definitive blueprint for this mix has yet been established by military leadership.