Army considers armed unmanned combat vehicles to take on tactical roles different from larger manned tanks
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – On 10 Sept. 2019, a Titan unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) fired multiple Javelin anti-tank missiles at targets on the Army’s Redstone range in Alabama. The National Interest reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
7 Jan. 2021 -- The test represented a big step for U.S. military moves to acquire armed robots for high-end warfare. The QinetiQ-made Titan UGV isn’t actually a robot tank; it has tracks, weighs just about one ton, but was originally designed to haul supplies for infantry.
The test combat vehicles missile launcher is fired by remote control -- by a human, not an algorithm -- although there’s targeting technology in development that has the potential to change that.
But a robot tank isn’t what the Army is looking for. Instead, experts are considering robotic combat vehicle that could be much smaller, cheaper and more expendable than its manned vehicles, and will play different tactical roles from manned combat vehicles.
Related: Networking vehicles on the future battlefield
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
