{"id":81611,"date":"2026-05-20T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/20\/pentagon-policy-isnt-keeping-pace-with-autonomous-weapons-senators-argue\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:15:42","slug":"pentagon-policy-isnt-keeping-pace-with-autonomous-weapons-senators-argue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/05\/20\/pentagon-policy-isnt-keeping-pace-with-autonomous-weapons-senators-argue\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon policy isn\u2019t keeping pace with autonomous weapons, senators argue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Pentagon requests a massive budget increase to develop autonomous weapons, some senators worry that DoD policy isn\u2019t keeping pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOD\u2019s \u201cpolicy architecture really has to scale with it,\u201d Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. \u201cAnd this is where we probably lag behind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the hearing, which focused on science priorities in the Pentagon\u2019s fiscal 2027 budget request, Ernst pointed to a massive increase proposed for the Defense Autonomous Working Group, or DAWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration is seeking $55 billion for DAWG, up from its $225 million budget for the current fiscal year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With drones dominating the battlefield in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/13\/ukraines-battlefield-integration-surpasses-us-militarys-army-secretary-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/13\/ukraines-battlefield-integration-surpasses-us-militarys-army-secretary-says\/\">Ukraine<\/a>, and Iran unleashing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/unmanned\/2026\/04\/20\/us-army-turns-to-ukraine-tested-drones-to-counter-iranian-uav-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/unmanned\/2026\/04\/20\/us-army-turns-to-ukraine-tested-drones-to-counter-iranian-uav-threat\/\">drones<\/a> against U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, DAWG has the high-priority task of developing unmanned vehicles and autonomous weapons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2023, DoD updated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esd.whs.mil\/portals\/54\/documents\/dd\/issuances\/dodd\/300009p.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.esd.whs.mil\/portals\/54\/documents\/dd\/issuances\/dodd\/300009p.pdf\">Directive 3000.09<\/a>, which provided guidelines for autonomous weapons. In particular, 3000.09 specified that \u201cautonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems will be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ernst expressed concern that alongside the much greater use of drones, the targeting process to employ those weapons is increasingly driving by artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd at the same time, we\u2019re integrating the AI-driven targeting with those autonomous munitions at a pace that DoD Directive 3000.09 was not designed to contemplate,\u201d Ernst said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/05\/policies-needed-to-share-ai-generated-intel-across-nato-countries-official-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MH2605040154-3.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Policies needed to share AI-generated intel across NATO countries, official says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Currently, the 32 countries that make up the alliance share commercial data through exceptions and workarounds, the NATO official said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Emil Michael, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering and the DoD\u2019s chief technology officer, agreed that policy on autonomous weapons \u201cabsolutely needs updating. Not only because of the capability potential increase, [but also] because of the threat environment, what\u2019s possible by the adversary and partly because of the lessons we learned in Iran.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Autonomy will be a part of future U.S. defense capabilities, from technology to detect and clear mines, to space-based intercepts to stop Chinese hypersonic missiles, Michael said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo there are going to be different risk levels with autonomous,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd we have to account for them in our policies. And my belief is that this will change more frequently than it has in the past.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., compared the use of AI with the U.S. effort to develop atomic weapons in World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/techwatch\/2026\/05\/19\/pentagon-inks-500-million-deal-with-perennial-autonomy-for-counter-drone-tech\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2246948064.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pentagon inks $500 million deal with Perennial Autonomy for counter-drone tech<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Pentagon awarded Perennial Autonomy a $500 million contract to accelerate procurement of counter-drone technology.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Manhattan Project was funded by the government, even though the Roosevelt administration often hid from Congress where the money was really going. Today, innovation in AI, drones and autonomous weapons is primarily driven by the private sector, which raises questions about how the government\u2019s ability to impose restraints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI do not believe that a private-sector company should get to decide what the rules are,\u201d Slotkin said. \u201cBut I got to be honest, I think it is part of our congressional role up here to provide left and right limits, that provide some guidelines for how we govern this very new technology.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Trump administration seeks a massive investment in AI-driven systems, the DoD&#8217;s policies on their use &#8220;lag behind,&#8221; one senator said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":111410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,26,62,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3418],"class_list":["post-81611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GBZJCE2645A2ZLW2EFTRHRF43I","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/05\/20\/pentagon-policy-isnt-keeping-pace-with-autonomous-weapons-senators-argue\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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