What An AI War Will Look Like
I've always thought sci fi that portrays humans on the battlefield to be unrealistic. Or even tanks/giant mechs are unrealistic.
The future battlefield will be dominated by drones, constantly communicating with each other via a vast information mesh. Individual drones will coordinate and devise tactics on the fly themselves, and achieve objectives autonomously, with high level guidance by humans far away.
They're able to think and react faster than humans, more mobile, better armed and armored, and don't lack moral or courage. They'll serve every imaginable purpose – loitering munitions, scouts, assassins, hackers, assault, decoys, etc. Units of drones of all sizes and varieties can carry out targeted strikes deep within enemy territory as well as on the front lines.
Drones will be transported by hypersonic vehicles, much like an aircraft carrier carries fighters. They can reach anywhere on Earth with an hour, are hard to track, and harder to predict.
Refueling and repair is also automatic – drones bring themselves or other drones to the concealed forward deployed bases.
Small squads of stealth drone units will also destroy logistics supply lines far behind enemy frontlines, crippling their ability to fight.
Robotic ground units will be mostly used to destroy drones, carrying lightweight guided missile systems or lasers or EMP weapons. They'll need to small and fast to keep up, as well as stealthy.
Drones will also be able to autonomously order heavier missile or guided artillery strikes for heavier targets.
Tanks and large mechs are thus also obsolete, future battlefields will prioritize stealth and cyber warfare – means that can't be easily countered by drones or precision strikes. Larger machines just means larger targets – easier to spot and easier to kill.