Unmanned naval vehicles and the law of naval warfare

This chapter examines the adequacy of the existing law of the sea and law of armed conflict in regulating and assessing the employment of unmanned vehicles in maritime operational contexts. On the basis of a general assumption as to the enduring relevance and utility of existing law in addressing the challenges of new technology in the maritime domain, the chapter focuses upon unmanned vehicles as a case study of how existing law can meet the challenge of describing and regulating the military applications of new technology at sea. To this end, the analysis concentrates upon two talismans fundamental to defining and understanding this relationship: (1) the status of unmanned vehicles at sea, most particularly in terms of their legal personality and access to flag state immunities; and (2) the poise and positioning of unmanned vehicles at sea in terms of the legal affront they may generate.