A robot dog with a rifle – it's one of the latest additions to an ever-expanding range of concepts the US military is exploring to create defenses against drones. The war in Ukraine and the crises in the Middle East have shown how important the fight against drones is, and the US military is exploring new solutions in this area. In addition, the weaponization of robops is of increasing interest both in the US armed forces and around the world.
Ghost Robotics' four-legged Vision 60 robot, armed with an AR-15/M16 carbine, is one of the countermeasures drones that were demonstrated at the US Army Fort Drum base in New York as part of Operation Hard Kill exercises.
As stated in the US Army, Operation Hard Kill – is “live fire training” which will “turn Fort Drum into a premier counter-UAV training center by demonstrating the capabilities of lethal and non-lethal systems”.
The Vision 60 Q-UGV robot has a small turret at the front that mounts an AR-15-style rifle with a relatively large electro-optical sighting system and a large lens. This indicates infrared/thermal vision capability, which is particularly useful for finding targets in the sky. A laser guidance device is also attached to the side. The back of the Q-UGV features a GoPro-like video camera.
A video from the event shows people using some sort of tablets to remotely control weapons. It is not known whether the full system includes guidance from on-board sensors, but some degree of automated targeting would be highly desirable for this type of device. The SMASH series of computerized sights from the Israeli company Smart Shooter is a prime example of small arms optics on the market that offers target recognition and auto-aim features and can be used in a remote-controlled configuration. Some such sights are already in use in the US military.
In principle, a robot dog with a rifle can be effective against other targets besides drones. Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) has evaluated the Ghost Robotics Vision 60 robots, and regular Marine units are testing other types of robotic dogs equipped with anti-tank missile launchers. At most, unarmed robops are already in limited military service in the US and perform various functions such as perimeter patrolling.