Development of autonomos land vehicles (ALVs) started in 1984. The idea was to create a vehicle that could navigate itself over rough terrain without human input. Such a vehicle could be used in reconnaissance, mine-detection and clearing, tank acquisition and destruction, the creation of a robot tank, and other applications. In short, it would have sensors to recognize environmental stimuli and respond appropriately in its navigation.
Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) have recently come to the front stage of research. These are small, lightweight devices that fly without operator control, thereby making them autonomous. UAVs include drones, remotely piloted vehicles, and robotic aircraft. They can be significantly cheaper to develop, build, and use than manned aircraft, which require sophisticated life support systems. Over $1.5 billion has been spent on UAV systems in the U.S. between 1990 and 1995.
The Aegis system was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. The heart of the system is an advanced, automatic detect and track, multi-function phased-array radar, the AN/SPY-1. This high powered (four megawatt) radar is able to perform search, track and missile guidance functions simultaneously with a track capacity of over 100 targets. The first Engineering Development Model (EDM-1) was installed in the test ship, USS Norton Sound (AVM 1) in 1973.
The LANTIRN system is employed by the U.S. Air Force in F-15 and F-16 aircraft and is designed to enhance the pilot's capability to navigate and locate targets. LANTIRN's navigation pod employs a terrain-following radar (TFR) and a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor to enhance the pilot's capability of flying at very low altitudes no matter how dark it is or how bad the weather conditions are. LANTIRN's targeting pod also uses infrared detection to illuminate and track targets from miles away in any harsh weather or dark conditions. Further development of the LANTIRN system equips it with an Automatic Target Recognizer (ATR).
The Army's Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) has a lot of autonomous weapons loaded onto it. They include: Brilliant Anti-armor Sub-munition (BAT), Sense and Destroy Armor (SADARM), and Terminally Guided Sub-munition (TGSM). The MLRS can fire any number of IR guided rockets and hit designated targets at ranges of up to tens of kilometers (see picture).
These include the Navy's surface-to-surface Tomahawk missile and air-to-air HARM missile. More information on the Tomahawk can be found here. The Air Force also uses autonomous cruise missiles; specifically their AIM-120A Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) as well as their AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Planes which are equipped with these missiles include the F-15 and the F-16. Another F-16 picture..
An advanced cruise missile that would fly to a preprogrammed area on the order of several square kilometers, conduct a smart search for its own targets within that area, drop munitions on it, then circle looking for new targets.
