There was a competition a few years back that DARPA sponsored to see who has the best autonomous robot vehicle. I knew the technology would play out in the form of drones. SkyNet, SeaNet, LandNet.
SkyNet already exists!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_%28satellite%29
Skynet is a family of military satellites, now operated by Astrium Services on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence, which provide strategic communication services to the three branches of the British Armed Forces and to NATO forces engaged on coalition tasks. The satellites were operated by Paradigm Secure Communications until October 2012 when the organisation was rebranded to Astrium Services.