(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The thought of someone like President Joe Biden unleashing an army of killer robots might sound like a right-wing fever dream, but it’s closer to reality than one might expect.
According to a Wednesday report from the Military Times, efforts to incorporate robots in the military have reached a breakthrough, and are now being used in dangerous combat scenarios.
The Military Times reported that the Army’s MCOE Experimental Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th recently conducted an urban assault.
“But instead of human soldiers rushing across open areas and bursting into buildings, robots took the lead … 20 soldiers with four robotic vehicles were able to cross the open terrain to reach the building. But first robots with smoke generators created a screen,” the publication reported.
“At the same time, robot vehicles with tethered drones jammed enemy signals and extended the soldiers’ network. Small drones dropped robotic ground vehicles with cameras atop buildings to scout the interior while even smaller aerial drones entered windows, scanning the inside of the structure and transmitting back a “blueprint” of the building to soldiers on the ground,” the publication added.
“Then robot “dogs” with cameras of their own, entered the building looking for hazards and seeking out enemy troops.”
The Military Times also reported that another company at Fort Irwin, California is being built to work alongside mechanized formations. Plans there reportedly entail taking a 14-tank company and adding four robots, 10 soldiers and a couple of Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles.
“That might not seem like a lot of extra firepower, but with those extras, commanders can add loitering munitions, robot ammunition and battery resupply, keeping soldiers in the fight,” the Military Times said.
The Army still acknowledges that “trying to use robots to replace humans is going to take a long time,” the Military Times reported.
“But putting machines and humans together in an integrated formation helps put tasks on machines that unburden soldiers and allow them to do their jobs better,” it added.
In the meantime, members of Congress are proposing another way to address military recruitment shortfalls. Democratic U.S. Senators are pushing to allow illegal immigrants to serve in the armed forces in exchange for granting them citizenship.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
