Robots to Replace Troops on the Battlefield
The
Pentagon is considering replacing thousands of troops with robots, a
military commander said recently, marking the first time a DOD official
has publicly acknowledged that humans would be replaced with robots on
the battlefield. Gen. Robert Cone, head of the Army Training and
Doctrine Command,…
Robots to Replace Troops on the Battlefield
By David Francis
18 hours ago
Gen. Robert Cone, head of the Army
Training and Doctrine Command, made the comment at the Army Aviation
symposium on Jan. 15, according to a report in Defense News,
a trade publication covering the military. He said that robots would
allow for “a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force.”
Related: Killer Robots—If No One Pulls the Trigger, Who’s to Blame?
“I’ve got clear guidance to think
about what if you could robotically perform some of the tasks in terms
of maneuverability, in terms of the future of the force,” Cone said.
DOD did not respond to a request for comment on Cone’s remarks.
Cone also said that one-quarter of a 4,000 troop Brigade Combat Team
could be replaced by robots or drones. His announcement comes as the
entire Pentagon is shrinking, including troop reductions. DOD officials
have said that the size of the force would shrink from 540,000 to
450,000 by 2020.The Pentagon and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have been aggressively pursuing robot technology. DOD has already invested billions of dollars with companies like Boston Dynamics, now owned by Google, to develop the technology.
Related: World’s Most Lethal Drone Just Flew over Florida
So far, the company has developed
the AlphaDog robot, designed to haul heavy military equipment for
soldiers. Last year alone, DOD spent $7 million on the Avatar Program,
which is attempting to find a way to upload a soldier’s consciousness to a robot. It also spent $11 million on a program that is developing robots that act autonomously.
These robots, combined with the
already widespread use of drones and robots to detect bombs, are
prompting fears that the human element would be removed from combat.
Human Rights Watch and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, an
international coalition concerned that robots could replace humans, have
launched preemptive campaigns to ban their use.
If more advanced robots are used
in battle, it would be years down the line. Lt. Gen. Keith Walker told
Defense News that widespread use of robots could not occur until the
“deep future” - sometime between 2030 and 2040.
“We’ll need to fundamentally
change the nature of the force, and that would require a breakthrough in
science and technology,” he said.
Top Reads from the Fiscal Times:
- Did Obama Do Terrorists a Favor by Curbing the NSA?
- Iranian Caught Stealing Plans for DOD’s $1.5 Trillion Jet
- Is Edward Snowden Working with the Russians?
- end quote from:
- http://finance.yahoo.com/news/robots-replace-troops-battlefield-111500084.html
- If you watch "The Phantom Menace" it is all about a robot Army which might be a little like we are talking about in this article. IT is the first episode in the Star Wars series Time wise.(In other words though it was the 4th release in time it was the first because it was before Luke and Leia were born and even Anakin is a child who eventually becomes Darth Vader.)
No comments:
Post a Comment