ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an analysis of how Indonesia and Singapore are responding to the proliferation of remote-operated unmanned combat vehicles (UCVs). In the case of laws, a significant precursor innovation is UCVs, which are distinguished by the fact that their ‘critical functions’ remain under the control of a human operator, albeit remotely. The most prominent form of UCV has been unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as ‘Drones’), which have also been the primary subject of media coverage and are therefore the version of military robotics foremost in the mind of the general public. The United States is a major exporter of unarmed UCVs, which is reflective of their status as the leading developer of unmanned military systems and home to an advanced arms industry. However, despite rising demands from its allies and the occasional congress delegation, the United States has only authorised two sales of armed UAVs to before the end of 2018.
