By ARIE EGOZI
TEL AVIV: The United States of America of America Army is looking into robots designed yesteryear Israel Aerospace Industries, alongside the kickoff contracts probable to live signed inwards early on 2019, afterwards which production volition shift to IAI’s United States of America of America subsidiaries. In recent months overstep officials of the United States of America of America Tank-Automotive Research, Development & Engineering Center (TARDEC) convey been visiting IAI facilities almost on a weekly basis, Breaking Defense has learned.
“We consider the United States of America of America Army a large potential customer,” retired Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, IAI’s VP for nation systems together with the quondam Israeli defence attaché inwards the US, said inwards an exclusive interview. “They convey been briefed inwards State of Israel together with saw the systems inwards activity inwards the US.”
TARDEC, before long to live component of the new Army Futures Command, is exploring a broad gain of IAI robotic systems, Shamni said: counter-IED bots to grip roadside bombs; robotic mules to follow infantry soldiers alongside extra supplies; “leader-follower” systems where manned vehicles Pb unmanned ones inwards convoy; engineering robots to bulldoze obstacles nether fire; optionally manned vehicles that tin lavatory switch to unmanned functioning “in seconds”; together with fifty-fifty armed robots. All these systems, he said, tin lavatory either live remotely controlled yesteryear human operators or switch into a fully autonomous trend where they brand decisions based on what their sensors regard together with what instructions the humans gave them earlier the mission.
But IAI is already looking into the adjacent generation: “flocks” or swarms of robotic systems that communicate alongside each other using Internet Of Things (IOT) engineering together with collaborate to hand their mission. The United States of America of America Army together with other potential users desire robots that tin lavatory react inwards existent fourth dimension to immediate threats, Shamni said: “This requires operational decisions to live made inwards the forepart business together with non inwards remote command centers, (using) robotic systems that are interconnected together with tin lavatory assist each other (in) fast changing conditions.”
Already, Shamni said, IAI is designing many of its Earth robots to piece of job alongside or fifty-fifty launch its combat-tested mini-drones together with loitering munitions such every bit Harop (Harpy) together with Green Dragon. With such robotic technologies probable to live exist implemented on a “massive” scale, he said, “it opens operational opportunities that are straightaway considered a wild dream.”
IAI’s cargo robot, REX, is designed to follow infantry squads carrying extra supplies together with weapons, or fifty-fifty evacuate casualties.
Robot Roll Call
While some of IAI’s robotic systems are highly classified, they’re eager to utter nearly the others. For years, IAI has been a leading developer together with manufacturer of drones, but to a greater extent than recently, Shamni explained, the fellowship has applied its Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) technologies to a novel household unit of measurement of unmanned Earth vehicles. Driven initially yesteryear Israeli Defense Force demand, the IAI robots are straightaway attracting international attending from the US, Australia, together with others:
The Miniature Air-Launched Decoy offers the unique combination of modularity, reliability, together with terms efficiency, making this effector a vital weapon inwards whatever arsenal.
IAI’s RoBattle
One of the largest is the seven-ton, six-wheel RoBattle – an unmanned, heavy-duty, highly maneuverable robotic vehicle designed to back upward human foot troops inwards a broad gain of missions, including armed reconnaissance, convoy protection, decoy operations, ambush, together with attack.. Operators tin lavatory equip RoBattle alongside dissimilar payloads including manipulator arms, sensors such every bit radars, together with remotely controlled weapons. There’s fifty-fifty an selection to supervene upon the wheels alongside tracks. Overall, the 14,000 pound vehicle tin lavatory bear upward to 6,000 pounds of mission-specific equipment or cargo.
Robattle currently communicates alongside its human overseers using 4G LTE cellular technology, although the United States of America of America mightiness rather install a military-specific communication kit that’s more resistant to jamming.
IAI’s REX robot
Another, smaller infantry back upward robot is the REX, currently nether evaluation yesteryear both the Israeli together with Australian armies. Shamni — a quondam paratrooper together with IDF main of infantry himself — noted that the modern infantryman must bear trunk armor, ammunition, together with a broad array of electronics, non to yell batteries, that spell tactically useful force the human trunk to the limits of its powerfulness to bear the weight. That’s why the United States of America of America Army has explored — but never fielded — a gain of robots to aid haul supplies similar extra ammo, rations, together with batteries. The lineage runs from the ill-fated MULE (Multifunction Utility/Logistics & Equipment), component of the cancelled Future Combat Systems, to the electrical flow SMET (Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport) trials.
A broad gain of counter-drone technologies comes of age.
In this niche, IAI is offering REX, a small-scale unmanned platform alongside a hybrid engine that allows it to follow human foot soldiers for 12 hours nonstop, carrying 880 pounds of equipment together with supplies. It tin lavatory besides live configured to bear a stretcher alongside a unmarried casualty — instead of taking at to the lowest degree 2 salubrious troopers out of activity to evacuate a wounded comrade — or fifty-fifty bear a remotely controlled automatic weapon.
A unmarried soldier tin lavatory usage a remote command device to command the robot’s every action, laid a serial of waypoints for it to follow without farther human intervention, or precisely convey the Rex follow him roughly at a pre-set distance using a virtual electronic “leash.” The destination is to minimize the total of fourth dimension together with unloosen energy the infantry pass managing the machine, Shamni said, together with then “the leader becomes a mission operator rather than a robot operator.”
IAI’s unmanned variant of the D9 bulldozer for clearing mines together with obstacles nether fire, the PANDA.
While Rex together with RoBattle are notwithstanding beingness evaluated yesteryear the IDF, some other IAI robot is already inwards use, Shamni said: the PANDA, a D9 heavy bulldozer modified to operate unmanned together with then it tin lavatory clear roadside bombs together with other obstacles spell the humans rest out of the danger zone. This is some other unmanned mission where the United States of America of America Army has showed intense interest, non precisely for counter-IED piece of job inwards counterinsurgency, but for major war, where conventional militaries similar Russia’s exercise edifice complex defensive belts of landmines together with anti-tank obstacles, all covered yesteryear dug-in gun teams to kill whatever scrap engineer who tries to breach them. IAI has besides developed an equivalent to TARDEC’s experimental “leader-follower” system, inwards which unmanned provide trucks follow a manned vehicle inwards convoy. IAI’s RoboCon is a “convoy leader” that tin lavatory autonomously maneuver roughly obstacles together with over hard terrain. RoboCon is non a specific vehicle but a robotic kit that tin lavatory live adapted to a diverseness of platforms. Shamni said that a probable futurity application would live a manned heavy tank, similar the Israeli Merkava Mk 4, leading a convoy of robotic trucks.
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