The U.S. Army equipped a platoon of 40 foot soldiers with unmanned ground vehicles and aerial drones to counter an infantry during a recent wargame, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.
“Their capabilities were awesome,†Army Capt. Philip Belanger, a Ranger Regiment and Stryker Brigade veteran, said of the drones and robots. “We reduced the risk to US forces to zero, basically, and still were able to accomplish the mission.â€
The service also used artificial intelligence during the simulation. “The key technology was a platoon artificial intelligence cloud, the architecture that allowed our soldiers to be able to control robotic systems that were extending their reach within that battlespace,†said Ted Maciuba, a retired Army officer who’s now deputy director of robotic requirements at Fort Benning’s Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate.
The Army plans to develop prototypes of select technology platforms for a series of experiments in 2020. Belanger said the service will issue a request for proposals and accept offers by January.
The service will work Georgia Tech Research Institute to test and integrate the prototypes into a series of experiments in support of a “system of systems†field exercise by September.
