Key figure · The layers of autonomy, mapped to the levels of military operations. The C2 integration burden stacks; the autonomy itself need not.
Command and control against a peer adversary in the age of autonomous systems.
Command is the art of authority: formulating intent, accepting risk, carrying responsibility. Control is the science behind it, the systems and procedures that keep execution on course. Technology can improve control a great deal. Command remains human work.
Uncrewed systems make command and control heavier. Every additional user of the battlespace means more deconfliction, more identification questions and a larger picture that someone has to interpret. Whoever develops or buys autonomy takes on a C2 problem along with it.
This paper maps four layers of autonomy to the levels of military operations. The core: the C2 integration burden stacks with every layer, while autonomy itself need not be built from the bottom up. Which level of autonomy is required follows from the mission profile. That insight should steer roadmaps, requirements and demonstrations.
Available in English and Dutch. Free to share in unaltered form, cite with attribution.