Introduction

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) recently accepted five swarms of six air drones from leading defence electronics manufacturer, Elbit Systems, to aid in information gathering, which has had us wondering, what are the benefits of unmanned vehicles? Are air drones the only unmanned vehicles out there? How are they used? We’re breaking down all the details of the newest military technology: unmanned systems.

Water

Unmanned underwater vehicles (or UUVs) are essentially a hybrid of drones and submarines. They are designed to operate underwater without a human occupant, much like the other tech advancements on this list. Initially, they were designed to find and dismantle underwater mines but, with changes in military thinking, more militaries have used them for reconnaissance and information collection. These drones tend to track water temperatures, salinity, oxygen levels, and turbidity, which can inform the Navy on what is the best route for submarines to take.

Nowadays, the concept of UUVs finding and disposing of underwater mines has expanded, partly in an effort to clean the oceans.

Air

The international defence tech manufacturer, Elbit Systems Oldham, designs and creates a lot of tools for the military. However, their best addition to British defence has got to be the five swarms of six Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) offered in 2021. With this advanced tech, that are no mere toys despite what your nephew says what he wants for Christmas, military front line operatives and civilian lives are saved.

Drones allow for remote collection of information, which means that military operatives can understand what is happening in the thick of the action without being physically in the thick of the action. From there, they can develop a plan that will avoid harming civilians as much as possible.

Drones are considered the standard, since they have allowed for an unmanned air force, and gone some way to replacing jets, but not entirely. Manned missions are still essential, but if an unmanned vehicle, which is cheaper and records data while being controlled remotely, keeping lives away from risk.

Land

However, drones are not the only unmanned vehicles out there. With the concept saving so many lives, it makes sense that the idea would soon be applied to land military vehicles, like tanks.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (or UGVs) are increasingly common nowadays, with automated vehicles operating without the need for a human presence onboard. They are created to enhance safety, efficiency, and performance in military operations.

The most obvious use of UGVs is tanks, which do far more than the destructive image that comes to mind when you think of tanks. These unmanned vehicles assist in various missions, including transport, reconnaissance, and rescue. Further, their software can be updated to add functions as needed in any given operation.

And it is worth mentioning unmanned bomb disposal systems while we are on topic of land technology. Though hard to determine it as a vehicle, its unmanned nature is greatly useful in an operation that is very high risk and therefore a great advancement in military operations.