That won’t pass the test of future fighting, said retired Army Maj. To date, most of the systems that have been tested in the operating environments of past wars – open terrain woodlands or desert settings.
![war of rights bots war of rights bots](https://www.onrpg.com/wp-content/gallery/war-of-rights/Louisiana_Brigade_retreat.jpg)
But top leaders have asked a lot of the project, wanting to have a rapidly ready, power-saving, remotely-controlled, all-weather, all-terrain shooter that also provides survivable protection for a crew of six soldiers. The OMFV has been seen as critical to Army ground combat efforts. Congress then made drastic cuts to the vehicle’s budget. The program to replace the Bradley, the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, was recently cancelled after disqualification left only one contender in the competition. The Next Generation Combat Vehicle program also includes plans for building in ways to remotely control vehicles from it, making a single, manned vehicle capable of fighting in its own ground formation. Soldiers used a Humvee and an M113 armored personnel carrier to provide suppressing machine gun fire, all controlled from a Bradley in a line-of-sight position. In it, they were required to navigate an obstacle that included layers of landmines, wire and a deep trench. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team ran the test. The Army also ran “robotic wingman” tests with a major event last year at Yakima Training Center, Washington. The center has also experimented in recent years with throwable robots to use in buildings, aerial drones that can detect enemy aerial drones and a Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport robotic mule to run up to 60 miles, carrying all the supplies a squad needs for a 72-hour mission and soldier-controlled drone swarms. They’ve partnered with universities, such as the Georgia Institute of Technology to go after specific challenges like giving small units a man-portable ground robot for sensing and reconnaissance. In 2018, leaders established the Robotics Center of Innovation at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Army is focusing on a host of other robotic and artificial intelligence-focused efforts through various challenges to make the infantry platoon 10 times more effective in operations.
![war of rights bots war of rights bots](https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/25965595/b4db082ce88b020545110484862da5ed11dcd3c7_400x225.jpg)
Newer versions all for flight times of 25 minutes or longer and better camera and video capabilities. It was first deployed on a test basis with troops to Afghanistan in 2016. The small device gives users both control and GPS-guided autopilot. The “Black Hornet” serves as a short range personal reconnaissance system that can shoot both still images and record video. One year ago, the Army announced the large-scale purchase of a pocket-sized helicopter drone made by FLIR Systems.