The Rise of Russia’s Hi-Tech Military

By Samuel Bendett, Alum of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University 

INTRODUCTION

Following the end of the Cold War, the Russian Federation lagged behind the United States in terms
of advanced technology in warfighting. However, after substantial spending on modernization starting in 2008, the Russian military and the nation’s defense sector have been making great strides at developing remotely operated and autonomous technologies and integrating them in their tactics and combat operations. Russia is also starting to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development with specific military applications. These developments affect the ability of the United States to meet the goals in its new National Security Strategy; in order to meet its stated December 2017 objective of re- newing American competitive advantage in key military areas, the United States should be aware of key adversar- ial developments such as Russia’s emerging unmanned, autonomous, and AI capabilities, and prepare itself in terms of appropriate capabilities, tactics, and plans.

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This piece was republished from Fletcher Security Review.