Consideration of the use of autonomous, non-recallable unmanned vehicles and programs as a deterrent or threat by state actors and others

•Presents concept of non-recallable autonomous control systems for UAVs, UGVs and weaponized software.•Discusses benefits and problems of non-recallable control.•Considers why development non-recallable control may be inevitable.

This paper considers the use of a non-recallable control technology (either for craft control or to command weaponized software) as a deterrent or threat mechanism by state and non-state actors. It considers the efficacy of this approach in modern war fighting (including in limited war-like scenarios), comparing it to the mutual assured destruction phenomenon created by atomic weaponry and the Zanryū Nipponhei (‘Japanese holdout’) scenario. The deterrent, immediate and long-term impacts of the non-recallable control technology are considered from a warfighting perspective. The ethical and societal implications of the development of this technology and the proverbial opening of Pandora's Box that its development represents are also considered.