Military Robots in the Field

Yes, I believe armed teleoperated robots like MAARS will be used by the U.S. military within the next one to two years. The technology can't be put back into the bottle and so its use on the battlefield is inevitable -- the only question is exactly how soon. By the same token the use of fully autonomous armed robots isn't likely over the next 50 years due to humanitarian pressures and moral obligations to maintain control over lethal machines.

The short answer is "NO." The longer answer is take a look at my responses to the emails from Thupten Jampel and John Holt to see why a) these vehicles are not robots; and b) radio-controlled machinegun-armed vehicles are unlikely to work in any important infantry combat roles, given the current or foreseeable vehicle and sensor technology.

But I have a much more direct reason for the resounding "no". As I mentioned to Thubten, the Army sent a dozen or so of these machine gun-carrying SWORD vehicles to Iraq. The troops have had a year and a half to figure out something to do with them. In that year and a half, they have not fired a single shot in combat. That should tell you there's something seriously wrong. Either the vehicles are too dangerous to use, or their sensors/accuracy/mobility are too limited to use in combat. Worst of all is that the SWORD program has so little transparency that there's no report on why no shot has been fired. In my opinion, both the Army and, more understandably, the contractor are covering up for what must have been a massive failure in-theater.