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Israel's Military Displays Unmanned, Armed Patrol Vehicle

[AP] Matti Friedman - The Guardium, a remote-controlled, unmanned vehicle commissioned by the Israeli military, is designed to replace human soldiers in dangerous roles and sometimes tedious missions, cutting casualties. Like the pilotless drones that have become a mainstay of the air force in Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere, the four-wheeled Guardium is operated from a command room and can carry cameras, night-vision equipment and sensors, as well as machine guns. Relying on cameras that scan 360 degrees at all times, the vehicle's sensors send alerts of anything suspicious to the remote operator. "Representatives of armies with troops who are taking high casualties in asymmetric warfare, from threats like roadside bombs, get excited about this product," said Erez Peled, general manager of G-Nius Unmanned Ground Systems, which developed the Guardium. Robots like this are potentially the future of ground warfare, said John Pike, director of the military think tank Globalsecurity.org. "A robot means you don't have to write a condolence letter."
2008-05-02 01:00:00
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