Commentary In recent commentaries, I have written a lot about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its efforts to embrace “intelligentized” warfare. These means creating “intelligent weapons” such as autonomous systems, for example, robots. Robotics systems of warfare are basically drones, capable of operating without human controls. Increasingly, autonomous systems are being considered for any variety of mission or operation once considered to be the sole domain of manned systems. Initially, drones—mostly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—were used in roles and missions deemed too “dull, dirty, or dangerous” for manned platforms. They have been typically employed for surveillance and reconnaissance over enemy territory. More and more, autonomous systems are being used to free up manned platforms—such as surface combatants, submarines, or combat aircraft—for combat missions. Aerial drones are more likely to replace combat aircraft in missions where the operation is particularly high-risk or if the use of a manned system might …