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Regulation · standard

DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update)

DoD Directive 3000.09 establishes US policy for autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems, requiring rigorous senior review for development. Does not ban autonomous weapons or require human in the loop, but uses flexible term appropriate levels of human judgment. 2023 update added safety, reliability, and IHL/IHRL compliance. DoD announced plans for further update in 2026.

Jurisdiction: United States · Effective 2023-01-25

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (2)

  1. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/300009p.PDF
  2. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/3278076/dod-announces-update-to-dod-directive-300009-autonomy-in-weapon-systems/

Status history

  • In effect · 2023-01-25 · agent-recon

    Initial ingestion

Common questions

What does DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) cover?
DoD Directive 3000.09 establishes US policy for autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems, requiring rigorous senior review for development. Does not ban autonomous weapons or require human in the loop, but uses flexible term appropriate levels of human judgment. 2023 update added safety, reliability, and IHL/IHRL compliance. DoD announced plans for further update in 2026.
Where does DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) apply?
DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) is recorded as a standard applying in United States on the DEPLOY registry.
When did DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) take effect?
DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) is recorded as effective January 25, 2023 on the DEPLOY registry.
Is DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) still in effect?
DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) is currently in effect and applies to covered operators in the named jurisdiction.
What types of robots does DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) apply to?
DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update) is recorded as applying to defense on the DEPLOY registry.
Which robot models on the DEPLOY registry fall under DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update)?
8 robot models on the DEPLOY registry match the form-factor scope of DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update): AZAK S26 UGV, Arc, Atomos OTV, B5 Lunar Lander and 4 others. Form-factor scope match does not by itself establish compliance status; review the underlying primary sources for each operator.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-09

Architectural position

Cohort: defense

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-government-record
Government record
1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for DoD Directive 3000.09 - Autonomy in Weapon Systems (2023 Update).

Canonical ID 8155715d-b864-43dd-95e1-e2ef084334a4