Department of Defense Directive 3000.09

Department of Defense Directive 3000.09 is the current US policy on autonomous weapons.{{cite web | url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/state-dod-ai-and-autonomy-policy | title=The State of DOD AI and Autonomy Policy | date=9 January 2024 }}

It states: "Autonomous … weapons systems shall be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force."{{Cite web|url=http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300009p.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201105512/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300009p.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2012|title=Directive 3000.09, Autonomy in weapon systems|date=2012|author=US Department of Defense|page=2}} However, the policy requires that autonomous weapon systems that kill people or use kinetic force, selecting and engaging targets without further human intervention, be certified as compliant with "appropriate levels" and other standards, not that such weapon systems cannot meet these standards and are therefore forbidden.{{Cite journal|last=Gubrud|first=Mark|date=April 2015|title=Semi-autonomous and on their own: Killer robots in Plato's Cave|url=https://thebulletin.org/semi-autonomous-and-their-own-killer-robots-plato%E2%80%99s-cave8199|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=2017-10-30|archive-date=2017-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509042433/http://thebulletin.org/semi-autonomous-and-their-own-killer-robots-plato%E2%80%99s-cave8199|url-status=dead}} "Semi-autonomous" hunter-killers that autonomously identify and attack targets do not require certification.