Picture this: you're the 2IC on a resupply convoy when your HUD turns to snow, your 152 goes silent, and the first sign of the enemy isn't a muzzle flash or a contact report, it's what sounds like a giant swarm of angry bees overhead.

That's the world of Autonomous Gauntlet, a near-future short story about how warfare is being reshaped by autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and networked sensing. Set in a fictional South-east Asian conflict in the Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE)’s "South Torbia," it follows elements of Australia's 1st Division — and Lieutenant Amelia Mooney, or 'AM'’s, Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Platoon, a cutting-edge but not-yet-fully-understood capability — as they fight to stabilise a collapsing front against a technologically adaptive, hybrid adversary.

It opens as a war we'd find familiar: tanks, arty, manoeuvre. The fight then changes fast: drone swarms, electronic warfare (EW), and the surgical targeting of log and command nodes. AM's platoon goes from being sidelined in a security role to a decisive element in both intelligence and combat. When a critical resup convoy is ambushed by coordinated jamming and drones, the vulnerability of technologically dependent systems is brutally exposed. AM’s team counters a hybrid force of regulars, insurgents and criminals through human initiative, machine teaming and improvised tactics. The climax, the defence of a vital logistics hub during a chaotic brigade-level withdrawal with layered jammers, autonomous interceptors, robotic platforms and limited close-air support (CAS) underscores the central theme: emerging technology is only as good as the soldiers and officers who understand, integrate and use it effectively under extreme pressure.

About Autonomous Gauntlet

The work is an Army Battle Lab short story by Jack Silkstone, a writer with a background in Military Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence and Special Operations, and author of the popular Primal and SEAL series. Set in the fictional DATE universe, Autonomous Gauntlet is as much an entertaining military thriller as it is a threat-literacy product, one of Battle Lab's areas of focus, and complements our other lines of effort, such as Drone Forge and our upcoming robotics competition, ATLAS Forge.

Why it matters now

The 2026 National Defence Strategy paints a more dangerous, unpredictable era — one that demands the ADF double down on denial and self-reliance, with a strong pull toward littoral manoeuvre and Australia's north. Through the Integrated Investment Program, a sizeable chunk of Army's growth will be driven by uncrewed systems and the means to counter them — exactly what makes or breaks Mooney's platoon. Forces Command stresses continuous adaptation and putting commanders back at the centre of training; Autonomous Gauntlet echoes both.

Why a book?

The US Army War College uses FICINT — fiction plus intelligence, coined from August Cole and Peter Singer's work, Ghost Fleet — as a deliberate way to identify blind spots and challenge existing assumptions, painting pictures vivid enough to drive complex ideas home. Here at home, the Australian Army Research Centre values fiction for the same reason: a good story can land hard truths that history sometimes struggles to convey. Ghost Fleet now sits on the reading lists of every US service, the CIA and the RAF; and MAJGEN Mick Ryan, AM (Retd)'s White Sun War is studied the world over. Autonomous Gauntlet now joins these works — shining a light on the tactical fight, in AMCU, in our region.

Why it matters to you

Mooney is a subbie and not a senior officer. The decisions that win or lose her fight happen at section and platoon/troop level. “Useful fiction” is a low-risk, low-cost way for Army to fail, learn and adapt. Death-by-doctrine might go in one ear and out the other; but a vivid story where you witness a young LT get it wrong, learn, then improvise to get it right, just might stick.

Give it a read, then thrash it out with your team: would your section have clocked the jamming sooner? When did you last run your counter-drone drill? When comms fail, what's your PACE plan?

Autonomous Gauntlet is a vivid, brutal look at war in the near future, and a free rep to think on and rehearse. Grab the eBook and pull it apart with your team.

And if you've got a story that could help Army understand the future fight, get in touch with Battle Lab. We want to hear it.