From Experimentation to the Front Line: Colonel Jim Howard on the Future of Uncrewed Land Warfare

Chapter headingChapter subheadingAhead of Defence iQ’s Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems conference, Colonel Jim Howard, Commander of the Experimentation and Trials Group, discusses the British Army’s evolving approach to robotics and autonomous systems.Contents

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From Experimentation to the Front Line

Colonel Jim Howard on the Future of Uncrewed Land Warfare

With uncrewed and autonomous systems moving from experimentation towards operational reality, the challenge for armed forces is increasingly one of integration: connecting platforms, people and data to create a genuinely effective fighting force.

Ahead of Defence iQ’s Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems conference, Colonel Jim Howard, Commander of the Experimentation and Trials Group, discusses the British Army’s evolving approach to robotics and autonomous systems.

Drawing on his experience in armoured warfare, Project Streetfighter and military experimentation, he explores the growing importance of UGVs, human-machine teaming, battlefield connectivity and rigorous testing - and explains why autonomy could fundamentally reshape the way land forces fight.

Colonel Jim Howard
Commander, Experimentation and Trials Group
Experimentation and Trials Group

Colonel James (Jim) Howard commissioned into the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment and commanded his first Challenger 2 tank in 2001. His regimental career has included roles as Reconnaissance Troop Leader, Operations Officer, Squadron Leader and Commanding Officer of the Royal Tank Regiment, alongside operational deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

A strong advocate for innovation in armoured warfare, Howard oversaw the development of Project Streetfighter 2, which explored concepts including a Brimstone 2 launcher pod and tank–UGV teaming through the Armoured Wolfpack initiative. He is currently Deputy Team Leader in Land Combat Vehicles at DE&S, supporting the delivery of major platforms including Challenger 3, Boxer and the Future All-Terrain Vehicle (FATV).

For many armies, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt uncrewed systems, but how to integrate them effectively. From your perspective, what are the biggest lessons the British Army has learned so far about employing UGVs and autonomous systems alongside traditional armoured forces?

It is increasingly clear that network connectivity is at the heart any RAS fighting force. It’s not enough just to have drones and robots as part of your force, they must be fully integrated onto a digital network, creating a true system of systems. Carrying out this integration onto traditional armoured platforms is complex and can be expensive. But done right, the force multiplier where the opportunities are exponential, drastically increasing sensor reach, lethality and survivability of any formation.

During your time commanding the Royal Tank Regiment, Project Streetfighter explored concepts including tank–UGV teaming through the Armoured Wolfpack initiative. Looking back, which ideas from that work have proven most enduring, and which surprised you by proving more difficult than expected?

The Streetfighter aspect that has aged the best is definitely that of manned/ unmanned teaming, or UGV wingmen. I still chuckle when I think that only seven years ago, I was firmly told that robots alongside tanks was pie in the sky! A mixed force allows you to generate additional mass and dispersion, increasingly awareness, lethality whilst improving survivability for the crewed platforms. The other early learning point was growing the need for electrical power, at scale, on the frontline. UGVs currently account for between 60-70% of battlefield electrical power usage and this is increasing with the size, complexity and density of the UGV fleet. This has driven numerous logistics projects that are in the process of generating a layered power approach, from the front line, back down the echelons.

There's often discussion around replacing soldiers with autonomous systems, but in reality the future is likely to be about human-machine teaming. What does successful cooperation between crews and autonomous platforms actually look like on tomorrow's battlefield?

Integration and the passage of data is the key. Vehicle crews have to be able to see, hear and sense what the autonomous platforms can. This data needs to be able to pass quickly and seamlessly as even the smallest amount of lag could be catastrophic in a fight. Equally, we need to harden our systems against EW attack, increase the use of edge computing forwards and reduce the reliance on cloud connectivity.

As Commander of the Experimentation and Trials Group, you're responsible for assessing emerging technologies before they become frontline capabilities. How do you distinguish between technologies that are genuinely transformational and those that are simply generating excitement?

Rigour and evidence! As the Army’s dedicated and SQEP experimentation/Trials asset, we are well versed in all manner of equipment testing and, critically, do not feel any pressure to demonstrate success. For me, proving something is not as effective as we had hoped is just as useful as proving success. We have access to everything from anechoic testing chambers to Corps level US exercises, where the enemy force has drone swarms and multi-spectrum jamming capability. The ETG’s credibility is based around its ‘kite mark’ and the confidence one can have in its experimentation reports. For this reason, its is a key feeder when it comes to selecting who Land Forces resource a particular capability demand.

Military innovation often moves faster than the processes needed to test, validate and field new capabilities. How does the British Army strike the right balance between rapidly embracing emerging technologies and ensuring they're ready for operational use?

So I would offer that this is one of the key drivers for having a dedicated ETG, rather than relying on busy units and formations, to conduct detailed experimentation. There is always a balance to be had between risk and speed; an equation which changes based on the operational imperative. Safety will always be critical and not an area where we would seek to cut corners. The trick is to resist mission creep and a growing list of increasingly exquisite requirements. Be ruthless with what is ‘good enough’, bring it into service, and then spirally develop the capability at pace.

Future land operations will depend on closer collaboration between crewed vehicles, UGVs, UAVs and wider battlefield networks. What organisational, training and doctrinal changes do you believe will be most important if armies are to exploit these capabilities to their full potential?

The biggest shift is that, where ‘G6’ / communications used to be a specialist sport or an annex to the plan, it is now firmly everyone’s business. If combat arm commanders don’t understand how data is stored and moved around the battlefield, they’re probably going to get in the way.

Looking ahead to the next decade, which emerging autonomous capability do you think is currently being underestimated, and why do you believe it could prove decisive on the future battlefield?

UGVs, without question. It feels like they are now where UAS were eight years ago, emergence but evolving at an eye watering pace in terms of their capabilities and suitability for an increasingly broad range of battlefield missions.

Finally, you'll be speaking at Defence iQ's Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems conference this December. What are you most looking forward to discussing with fellow military leaders and industry experts, and why should anyone involved in defence autonomy make attending the conference a priority?

For me, it’s the bringing together of like-minded people who understand the detail behind the ideas. A cohort that is driving the rapid modernisation of the Army rather than simply admiring it!

Continue the Conversation at Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems 2026

2–3 December 2026 | Novotel West, London, UK

Hear directly from Colonel Jim Howard and join military leaders, capability developers and industry experts exploring how uncrewed and autonomous technologies are transforming modern defence. Join the defence autonomy community to examine the latest developments in human-machine teaming, autonomous platforms, experimentation and the integration of uncrewed systems into future operations.