Rover 2.0
To address its manpower shortage, Ukraine is planning to let loose packs of robot dogs against the invading Russian military, Agence France-Presse reports.
The robot dogs will be used to detect land mines, go on reconnaissance missions to scope out the enemy in hostile territory, and carry weapons, ammunition, and medicine to the battlefield.
During a recent demonstration to journalists, one of the robot dogs dubbed BAD ONE crouched and ran not unlike its flesh and blood counterpart, showing off its compact size and stealthy agility.
“This dog limits the risk for soldiers and increases operational capabilities,” a robot dog operator named Yuri, who’s working for a British military equipment company, told AFP. “This is the core function of the dog.”
The robot dog has a battery run time of two hours, an onboard thermal imaging system, and a kill switch that erases all of its data if the robot would fall in the hands of the Russians.
It just goes to show how military forces will use and push technology to their limit in order to gain a battlefield advantage, even if the results look like they came out of the “Terminator” movies.
Dogs of Ware
Besides Ukraine, other countries like the United States and China are also deploying robot dogs on the battlefield.
Recently, China unveiled a robot dog with a machine gun strapped to its back, a dystopian glimpse at the future of warfare. Israel is also using robot dogs in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
In addition to robot dogs, a variety of different types of drones have been a pivotal part of the war in Ukraine, a hotbed for new and experimental military technologies.
Ukraine is using the robot dogs to limit the risks to soldiers on the front lines.
“We were concerned about the increasingly frequent reports of casualties at the front due to enemy drones,” Kyle Thorburn, head of UK-based military contractor Brit Alliance, told German magazine Bild. “So we discussed the possibilities of a safer solution for reconnaissance missions in high-risk areas.”
And the bid appears to be paying off.
“This not only increases the effectiveness of combat operations, but also strengthens the morale of the army,” Thorburn added.
More on robot dogs: Boston Dynamics Shows Off Robodog With Fur
Source Agencies
