US Military Studying Whether Robots Could Replace Thousands Of Soldiers
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January24/243.html
By the end of next year, the plan for the US Army is to shrink it from its current size of 540,000, down to 490,000. Over the next decade, it is possible that the total army size could drop below 450,000. This has prompted senior military officials to consider replacing some of the lost troops with robots.
While a far cry from seeing the US field legions of Terminator-style killer ‘bots, this is still a remarkable shift and suggests a very different military industrial complex is in the works.
One of the primary ideas up for consideration: Replacing manned trucks and transports with robotic versions of these vehicles. General Robert Cone, who is the head of the army’s training and doctrine command, is said to be considering shrinking the army’s brigade combat teams from their current size of about 4,000 soldiers to 3,000, and utilizing robots to help make up the difference.
“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.” The General said. Options under discussion include trains of robot vehicles that would following vehicles with human drivers in long supply convoys.
He added that the army should follow the lead of the navy in using technology to cut manpower. "When you see the success, frankly, that the Navy has had in terms of lowering the numbers of people on ships, are there functions in the brigade that we could automate - robots or manned/unmanned teaming - and lower the number of people that are involved, given the fact that people are our major cost?"
It should be noted, however, that there are no immediate plans for autonomous robots to be deployed with lethal firepower. An expert on military robots and unmanned vehicles at the defense publication “IHS Jane's” said that armies were focusing on investigating robots vehicles for transport. "If you have a lead manned vehicle, you could have several unmanned vehicles following behind, or a train solely of unmanned vehicles."
Research into remote-controlled military vehicles had so far largely concentrated on allowing commanders to keep soldiers out of harm's way, but they could also see a reduction in the number of troops, he added.
A variety of robotic ground vehicles have already been successfully field tested in Afghanistan, including the Squad Mission Support System, a six-wheeled robotic buggy to carry soldiers' kit and baggage. It should also be noted that America has seen great success with their aggressive unmanned drone campaign targeting insurgents and al-Qaeda terrorists in the border regions of Pakistan.
Britain already has hundreds of remotely-piloted drone aircraft ranging from tiny surveillance helicopters to large Reaper drones armed with deadly hellfire missiles.
The rise of the new technologies has provoked fears of future battlefields one day stalked by unaccountable robotic killing machines, and in 2012, Human Rights Watch called for a pre-emptive ban on killer robots “before it’s too late”.
Former US commander General Stanley McChrystal, who oversaw Nato forces in Afghanistan, warned yesterday that America’s drones program created “a tremendous amount of resentment” in the areas it targeted.
Asked by the BBC’s Today program what the future was for drone warfare, he said: “There’s a danger that something that feels easy to do and without risk to yourself, almost antiseptic to the person shooting, doesn’t feel that way at the point of impact. And so if it lowers the threshold for taking operations because it feels easy, there’s danger in that.”
(H/T: Telegraph)
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January24/243.html#drPrbKehp6XoQoMu.99
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January24/243.html
By the end of next year, the plan for the US Army is to shrink it from its current size of 540,000, down to 490,000. Over the next decade, it is possible that the total army size could drop below 450,000. This has prompted senior military officials to consider replacing some of the lost troops with robots.
While a far cry from seeing the US field legions of Terminator-style killer ‘bots, this is still a remarkable shift and suggests a very different military industrial complex is in the works.
One of the primary ideas up for consideration: Replacing manned trucks and transports with robotic versions of these vehicles. General Robert Cone, who is the head of the army’s training and doctrine command, is said to be considering shrinking the army’s brigade combat teams from their current size of about 4,000 soldiers to 3,000, and utilizing robots to help make up the difference.
“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.” The General said. Options under discussion include trains of robot vehicles that would following vehicles with human drivers in long supply convoys.
He added that the army should follow the lead of the navy in using technology to cut manpower. "When you see the success, frankly, that the Navy has had in terms of lowering the numbers of people on ships, are there functions in the brigade that we could automate - robots or manned/unmanned teaming - and lower the number of people that are involved, given the fact that people are our major cost?"
It should be noted, however, that there are no immediate plans for autonomous robots to be deployed with lethal firepower. An expert on military robots and unmanned vehicles at the defense publication “IHS Jane's” said that armies were focusing on investigating robots vehicles for transport. "If you have a lead manned vehicle, you could have several unmanned vehicles following behind, or a train solely of unmanned vehicles."
Research into remote-controlled military vehicles had so far largely concentrated on allowing commanders to keep soldiers out of harm's way, but they could also see a reduction in the number of troops, he added.
A variety of robotic ground vehicles have already been successfully field tested in Afghanistan, including the Squad Mission Support System, a six-wheeled robotic buggy to carry soldiers' kit and baggage. It should also be noted that America has seen great success with their aggressive unmanned drone campaign targeting insurgents and al-Qaeda terrorists in the border regions of Pakistan.
Britain already has hundreds of remotely-piloted drone aircraft ranging from tiny surveillance helicopters to large Reaper drones armed with deadly hellfire missiles.
The rise of the new technologies has provoked fears of future battlefields one day stalked by unaccountable robotic killing machines, and in 2012, Human Rights Watch called for a pre-emptive ban on killer robots “before it’s too late”.
Former US commander General Stanley McChrystal, who oversaw Nato forces in Afghanistan, warned yesterday that America’s drones program created “a tremendous amount of resentment” in the areas it targeted.
Asked by the BBC’s Today program what the future was for drone warfare, he said: “There’s a danger that something that feels easy to do and without risk to yourself, almost antiseptic to the person shooting, doesn’t feel that way at the point of impact. And so if it lowers the threshold for taking operations because it feels easy, there’s danger in that.”
(H/T: Telegraph)
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January24/243.html#drPrbKehp6XoQoMu.99
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