U.S. Army photo by Capt. Eric-James Estrada
- Industry partners demonstrated a four-legged "robot dog" aimed to counter drones at a recent Army exercise.
- The ground robot carried an artificial intelligence-enabled rifle.
- The demonstration was a part of a larger operation testing counter-drone capabilities.
A "robot dog" carrying an artificial intelligence-enabled rifle made an appearance at a recent US Army counter-drone exercise.
Exploring the possibilities of a four-legged, remote-controlled system is just one example of the Pentagon's efforts to rapidly and at scale employ drones and counter-drone technologies.
Earlier this month, the Army and industry partners tested a quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle, armed with an AR-15-type rifle, as part of Fort Drum's "Operation Hard Kill." The event is led by the Army's 10th Mountain Division and Development Command-Armaments Center, with the goal being to provide the Army and its partners an opportunity to test counter-drone systems they're working on.
A video shared from one portion of the exercise shows the so-called robot dog in action. In the footage, the robot runs around and maneuvers its rifle as the Army and industry partners remotely control the system and discuss its targeting data.
Per the video, Ghost Robotics' Vision 60 Q-UGV features a small turret, which holds the rifle, a targeting system, and a GoPro-like camera mounted on the front of its body. According to the Army, the rifle was AI-enabled, potentially for automated targeting.
It appears to look similar to other robotic dogs developed by the Army and other branches of the US military. Previous testing of such systems includes a recent activity in which an Army light infantry company, accompanied by robotic dogs and UAVs to scout and sense surroundings, explored a simulated urban environment.
Per the goals of Operation Hard Kill, the robotic dog was tested in a counter-drone role, mainly meant to identify and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles.
While further details aren't clear, Operation Hard Kill's exercises appear to have been focused on two core issues facing the Pentagon: the need, they say, to rapidly develop drone technologies at great scale and the capability to effectively defeat drones on the battlefield.
The Defense Department's major Replicator Initiative, revealed last fall, is focused on fielding thousands of autonomous systems across various warfighting domains. The Pentagon has said that the war in Ukraine, which has been dominated by drone warfare of all kinds, has added urgency.
There are also whole programs dedicated to countering the drone threat, but drones killing drones is a less common area of development.
The US is far from the only military actively working on and, in some cases, already deploying robotic dogs in service. In 2022, Russia displayed its four-legged UGV equipped with an anti-tank rocket launcher. The system also oddly acted as if it were a real dog, spinning around on the floor.
China, too, has been at work on robot dogs. Earlier this year, US lawmakers raised concerns with the Pentagon on "the threat of rifle-toting robot dogs used by China" after video footage released by state-run Chinese media showed one such UGV running around and shooting an automatic rifle.
The UGV was shown off during recent Chinese military drills in Cambodia. Militaries, however, have also looked into using these technologies for purposes outside of direct combat.