Whenever a war breaks out, weapons get a new look to keep abreast of latest developments in military hardware and the United States has already taken up such activities. Researchers associated with the US Navy are of the opinion that robots could play a significant role in battles of today.
The Navy is engaged in testing a whole range of weaponized robots at its base in Camp Pendleton, California. These tests have been going on for the last two weeks, and it can be presumed that these relate to the present turbulent situation prevailing in different corners of the world and threats of war in the air.
Future scenario of war involving robots
According to Daily Mail UK, future encounters on the beaches with enemies could see the Us Marines using amphibious tanks and robots. The logic is simple enough – deployment of high-tech drones and weaponized robots in warfare on the front lines would reduce human casualties and save the soldiers. Loss of a robot is preferable to the loss of a soldier.
Machine gun wielding robots could become the first line of assault while storming the beaches. Among other weapons undergoing trials by the US Navy are speedboats that can convert into stealthy submarines to hide from threats. Tests are also being carried out to establish possibilities of robots moving from ships to shorelines, and the weapons are put through a range of realistic military scenarios to ensure satisfactory performance.
MUTT robot could be an asset
Use of robots in warfare appears to be the focus of the US Navy because such actions would ensure better engagement with the enemy. An example is the MUTT robot – MUTT is the acronym for Multi-Utility Tactical Transport and is a ground machine armed with a machine gun which can drive themselves during beach invasions.
They make use of tracks rather than wheels to navigate any terrain irrespective of whether it is sea, sand or slope. It could bring back memories of Curiosity – the Mars lander-rover that is searching for life on Mars.
The action taken by the United States to induct robots into the war field is a sensible move given the changing nature of wars and would certainly reduce the loss of human lives.
The horrors of chemical warfare are well known, and weapons are gradually becoming more destructive in nature. Knowing fully well the devastation of war, no one wants it to happen but, when it becomes inevitable, the intention would be to keep losses to a minimum.
