The U.S. Army — which has already beentesting robotic squad vehicleslike the Multi - Utility Tactical Transport ( MUTT ) and semi - sovereign targeting systems like theAdvanced Targeting and Lethality Automated System(ATLAS)—says it will behave live - fervency testing of a fresh Robotic Combat Vehicle ( RCV ) built on M113 armored personnel carrier physical body next year .
Mission Enabler Technologies - Demonstrator ( MET - D ) vehicle : leveraging the latest technical school in photographic camera , data display , GUI , thrust - by - wire capability , unmanned aerial vehicle - furnish television , & modern comms to serve w/ battlefield situational awareness & enhance communicating capabilitypic.twitter.com/SyWTwohq5 g
— U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center ( @devcom_gvsc)July 1 , 2019
Photo: U.S. Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center (Twitter)
As firstflagged by the Verge , anArmy release on Thursdaysays U.S. scout group will ensure the RCVs from a change Bradley Fighting Vehicle call “ Mission Enabler Technologies - Demonstrators , or MET - Ds . ” Two of these vehicles will be used as remote control platform for four of the modify M113s during the tests , the Army publish :
The upgraded Bradleys , visit Mission Enabler Technologies - Demonstrators , or MET - Ds , have thinning - bound features such as a distant turret for the 25 millimeter main gun , 360 - degree situational awareness camera and enhanced crew place with touchscreens .
Initial examination will admit two MET - Ds and four robotlike combat vehicles on M113 surrogate platforms . Each MET - D will have a driver and gunner as well as four Soldiers in its hindquarters , who will conduct platoon - level tactical manoeuvre with two surrogate vehicles that fire 7.62 mm political machine gunslinger .
In other words , the RCVs are n’t fully autonomous military vehicles — they’re remotely piloted unmanned vehicle operate on from a statement fomite . They ’re paradigm surrogates for future purpose - build machinelike vehicles , but the Army anticipates that soldier affect in the mental testing will be able to provide feedback and mayhap bring home the bacon insights into unlawful ways the organisation could be deploy .
The first phase of examination using the two MET - Ds and four RCVs will begin in March 2020 at Fort Carson in Colorado , while other testing is planned in Eastern Europe in May 2020 . In 2021 , planned 2nd form exam will require “ companionship - level manuevers ” using six MET - Ds , four M113 RCVs , and “ four light and four medium foster ” RCVs of a dissimilar build . Beyond that , the Army design on try out “ four sensitive and four gruelling design - built RCVs ” alongside the MET - Ds and M113 RCVs . ( “ Heavy purpose - built RCVs ” seems to be Army verbalize for what would fundamentally be golem armoured combat vehicle . )
In the departure , Emerging Capabilities Office headman David Centeno Jr. mention that the RCVs are planned to have advanced infrared detector kits and are destine to avail soldier advance on enemy position without exposing them to ardour . Eventually , Major Cory Wallace said , the Army envisions a battlefield where harm U.S. troops could require fighting through their golem surrogates first : “ It [ reduce endangerment ] by expanding the geometry of the battleground so that before the threat makes contact with the first human element , it has to make contact with the automaton . ”
The U.S. militaryalready operates dronesthat it uses in armed combat operations and for “ targeted killings”—a practice that is relentlessly criticizedby human rights groupsand someinternational constabulary authoritiesthat see it as worsen violence and dubiously legal . These operation have become bothfar more extensiveand even more closelipped in the era of the Trump governance , which earlier this class revoked policiesrequiring it to disclosehow many civilian die in such strikes , calling it “ purposeless . ” The routine of countries other than the U.S. using such technologyis produce . But so far those strike have been conducted using ethereal monotone , with ground - pounding military robotsmostly limitedtoedge roles .
The Defense Department ’s official office ( Directive 3000.09 ) is that humans must be able to “ work appropriate point of human judgment over the purpose of force , ” meaning that golem are officially forestall from independently decide to kill someone and a homo has to pull the induction . However , at the end of the Clarence Day , all of these systems are designed to increase the deadliness of combat forces in some capacity , whether it ’s surveillance information that could then be used in targeting or hauling equipment for soldier — the motivating ingredient behind Google employees’widespread protestsagainst the party ’s secretive Project Maven poke imaging computer program last year , which it eventually disengage from .
The RCVs in interrogative sentence are presently run by human race . But in the press release , the Army note “ on-going effort ” to transmit some operation of the vehicles to “ hokey news in decree to reduce the cognitive burden on Soldiers . ” Hmm .
[ Army ]
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