In the coming months, the United States Army is sending its first robotic Humvee to a field training exercise to see if the autonomous combat vehicle can accurately destroy targets, as part of a new experimental program to weaponize robots.
The killer Humvee, which is called the ‘Wingman,’ is part of the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration, or JCTD program, where engineers have developed autonomously piloted weaponized vehicles in hopes it will provide direct and indirect fire support for ground troops trapped in dangerous situations on the battlefield.
According to the Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC program, the goal behind the “Wingman” is to train soldiers and weaponized robotic vehicles to work together on the battlefield to confront America’s enemies. Army engineers say it will be Soldiers, not computers, which decide when the robotic Humvee fires a round.
“You’re not going to have these systems go out there like in ‘The Terminator’ [film],” said Thomas B. Udvare, deputy chief of the program. “For the foreseeable future, you will always have a Soldier in the loop.”
The Army Armaments Research Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division are also partners in the program, which was launched last year and funded with roughly $20 million after years of positive testing.
Popular Mechanics explains how the Wingman system works,
Right now, two Humvees make up the Wingman experiment: a manned M151 Humvee and the unmanned M1097 Wingman vehicle. Inside the crewed vehicle, three soldiers are assigned to take over key Wingman tasks. One of them handles Wingman’s target detection and laser range-finding, the second drives the vehicle if necessary, and the third pulls the trigger on the Wingman’s gun.
The Army highlights a significant issue with the current Wingman’s armament system. Engineers indicate the program will be upgrading legacy gas-powered M2 .50-caliber machine gun and M240 7.62-millimeter machine gun to an electrically-driven weapon that does not jam like the gas-driven machine gun.
“One of the more significant upgrades will be to the weapon system with the addition of ARDEC’s Advanced Remote Armament System to solve an issue with its previous weapon, the M240B machine gun. While the ARAS system remains the same caliber, it is an electrically-driven gun that does not jam like the gas-driven machine gun.”
“Obviously if you’re a kilometer away from your vehicle, jams are not good,” Udvare said. “What’s nice about their electrically-driven system is that the incidents of jamming are greatly reduced.”
The Army’s solution: the Advanced Remote/Robotic Armament System (ARAS). Popular Mechanics dissects the ARAS system and how it is a fitting upgrade to legacy gas weapons:
ARAS is a complete 7.62-millimeter machine gun that weighs 410 lbs. including the mount and 1,500 rounds of ammunition. ARAS has a heavy, fluted barrel that can survive burning through its entire ammo supply in less than five minutes. The gun is capable of 360-degree fire, 90-degree elevation and -30-degree depression. The system can load a fresh ammo pack in just six seconds. ARAS is paired with the Autonomous Remote Engagement System, which uses vision-based automatic target detection and user-specified target selection.
In May, the killer robotic Humvees are expected join engineers at “Grayling, Michigan, or Fort Benning, Georgia, to become certified in daytime operations on a Scout Gunnery Table VI course,” confirmed the Army.
In May, engineers are slated to take the two-vehicle set, which also includes a command and control Humvee manned by five personnel, to Grayling, Michigan, or Fort Benning, Georgia, to become certified in daytime operations on a Scout Gunnery Table VI course. The course is the same one used to train and qualify ground combat vehicle crews before they advance to larger warfighting exercises.
Military personnel could get their first opportunity to work side by side with the killer robotic Humvee come October, when “engineers hope to conduct an operational user assessment at Fort Benning using Soldiers and Marines,” added the Army.
“We saw the Table VI as an opportunity,” Udvare said. “The course may not test all of our capabilities and may not show all of our flaws, but at least it’s a beginning point to start to assess these platforms and drive technology.”
“By 2035, advances in technology may allow a Soldier to manage multiple assets such as combat vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and reconnaissance vehicles at the same time in combat, Udvare said.
“Autonomous systems aren’t going to be smart enough to be on their own for decades,” Udvare added.
“How we make split decisions on what we process in our environment … is very complex”
“To add autonomous platforms to the manned formations and have both the man and the machine work side-by-side to accomplish a mission is pretty powerful,” Udvare said.
Comments
Certified killer Humvee. Whoopie. Inferior armor and all.
I want a hummer yes I do.
Gee god. First they outsourced our menial efforts to china. Now we can even get a job as cannon fodder?
In reply to Certified killer Humvee. … by Throat-warbler…
You can get a faggot biker to come rape you and inject you with ruffies after force pumping your lungs full of crack as well, but you have to let a fag Jew torture you for a few months first.
All because you destroyed their con job with a simply series of trolls on various sites.
So are you interested? I am sure they can make it happen for you.
Personally, I don't do anything without $5million in cash before.
In reply to I want a hummer yes I do. by DownWithYogaPants
What the hell. It must be your 9th. day up on meth with no sleep. Jeez
In reply to You can get a faggot biker… by NidStyles
"For the foreseeable future, you will always have a Soldier in the loop."
Yes, just like we have a FISA court "in the loop" to protect us from being spied upon by our own country's intelligence agencies.
In reply to What the hell. It must be… by FurgetStHEkatZ
In ISRAHELL they don't need no stinkin robots to SNIPE Arab Kids, a National Sport. WARNING: Graphic Images
In reply to "For the foreseeable future,… by NoDebt
It's all fun and games 'til a hacker takes a couple on a joyride
In reply to "For the foreseeable future,… by NoDebt
Everybody's got a plan until Johnny 5 melts your face off with a laser.
In reply to It's all fun and games 'til… by Think for yourself
I don't know about y'all, but this looks like a great way to dump a bunch of surplus humvees, and who will care what the loss rate is when no actual people (on our side) are dying? Definitely a great place to dump billions into a program with plenty of management fee skims to go around.
Really though, I do hope they have more than one camera and antenna, as pictured. Either that, or enemies who can't shoot the likely SPOFS and sell the humvee for cash.
In reply to It's all fun and games 'til… by Think for yourself
If all they're programmed to do is drive around California and waste anyone burning the Stars and Stripes, it's still a worthwhile project.
In reply to I don't know about y'all,… by techpriest
Aka... the Boondoggle v1.0 (gender-neutral) 😎
In reply to I don't know about y'all,… by techpriest
Right. And “eyes on the ground” before we call in air strikes to make sure we’re not destroying a school or hospital.... come to think of it, I wonder how many hospitals could have been built with what it has cost to design this weapon of US hedge money defense. It’s called the “department of defense” because it “defends” the stupid dollar
In reply to "For the foreseeable future,… by NoDebt
“For the foreseeable future, you will always have a Soldier in the loop.”
Yeah, and it takes a soldier to frag another soldier.
R.I.P. Pat Tillman
In reply to "For the foreseeable future,… by NoDebt
“For the foreseeable future, you will always have a Soldier in the loop.”
In other words, they will have radio links, and therefore be susceptible to EW techniques, perhaps including taking control...
In reply to "For the foreseeable future,… by NoDebt
“Autonomous systems aren’t going to be smart enough to be on their own for decades,” Udvare added.
Autonomous killing machines are the goal. Murder, War Crimes where absolutely no one (Physical Person) is held responsible. Decision making put into the hands of AI Al & a Robot.
In reply to You can get a faggot biker… by NidStyles
Didn't anyone show them Terminator? or I-Robot???
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
Are these for foreign or domestic use?
In reply to Didn't anyone show them… by Mr. Universe
Yes.
In reply to Are these for foreign or… by overbet
Decades? That's as crazy as saying Hillary is clean.
15 years there abouts. Almost qualifies as decade(s)
Dear Mr NidStyles: I read your thing 2 times quickly. Could not attain phase lock.
Could you summarize in other words what you were trying to say? Cause yeah it read like 9 day meth head stuff to me too!
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
The decisions will be made by the people who accept being killed. Star Trek: A Taste of Armageddon
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
The biggest problem is establishing responsibility for their actions.
Let me make an outrageous forecast- it’ll be the fault of some faceless contractor, and the “penalty”, for, say, mass murder, will be CIVIL (cash) not criminal.
And what that means is that their gloves are off.
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
“Autonomous systems aren’t going to be smart enough to be on their own for decades,”
Yet we are told self driving vehicles will litter the highways by 2020. So which is it?
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
... the operative phrase being "litter the highways".
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Dig Deeper1
Actually we can do it today. The idea that it's decades away is ludicrous.
Why else do you think they're building the hardware?
In reply to “Autonomous systems aren’t… by Chupacabra-322
You on the rag dude?
In reply to You can get a faggot biker… by NidStyles
Reprogram your bot. It spouts gibberish.
In reply to You can get a faggot biker… by NidStyles
Ahhh technology.
In reply to I want a hummer yes I do. by DownWithYogaPants
You're a fag.
In reply to Ahhh technology. by PacOps
Useful for fighting aliens.
In reply to You're a fag. by NidStyles
When they declare Martial Law here in the US they will use them to keep the streets clear of the rif-raf.
In reply to Useful for fighting aliens. by Stuck on Zero
Dat me mah name. Now you bettah have mah grape drank cause ah dindu muffins
In reply to When they declare Martial… by Mr. Universe
So you’re proposing that they guard the border and replace whatever INS is called these days.
Thatd really revolutionize the meaning of the cry “¡Immigrácion!”.
In reply to Useful for fighting aliens. by Stuck on Zero
Be careful... You just might outsource your battlefield demise... But den agin, if it ain't wurf dying fer, den it ain't wurf nuff'in.
In reply to I want a hummer yes I do. by DownWithYogaPants
Nonsense, my life is worth living for.
How about you go commit suicide if yours isn't?
In reply to Be careful... You just might… by El Oregonian
Woot! You've skipped the tracks I see from your comments.
In reply to Nonsense, my life is worth… by NidStyles
I want a Hummer too. Wait, are we talking about the same thing?
In reply to I want a hummer yes I do. by DownWithYogaPants
How long before the evil (((terrorists))) get hold of them?
In reply to I want a hummer yes I do. by DownWithYogaPants
about as long as it takes to match a paintball gun to a drone and blind the sensors...
In reply to How long before the evil ((… by runswithscissors
Damn ur avatar.
In reply to about as long as it takes to… by NoDecaf
Not as easy a task as you might think..
Far easier to use the drone to deliver C4...
In reply to about as long as it takes to… by NoDecaf
The terrorists are the ones building them.
In reply to How long before the evil ((… by runswithscissors
Hmmm. Good question. I think that the people who called ISIS a military asset and funded & shielded them control them right now.
In reply to How long before the evil ((… by runswithscissors
We are so FUCKED.
You start sending this shit out...and the only response will be one
.
.
.
..................................Nuke.
In reply to Certified killer Humvee. … by Throat-warbler…
It makes one think about investing in a Barrett 82A1.
http://sgcusa.com/barrett-82a1-50-cq-20.html
In reply to We are so FUCKED. … by takeaction
Needs some AP to go with it.
In reply to It makes one think about… by serotonindumptruck
.
In reply to Certified killer Humvee. … by Throat-warbler…
'merica! for freedumb!
.
Coming to a Mayberry near you, if there are any such places left.
I see we are back in the cone of silence because you faggots don't want to end up in prison for human trafficking.
In reply to Coming to a Mayberry near… by Hubbs
Pagination