Robot Military Dogs

[Reuquen Lanier]

Marineswith the Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group recently conducted a proof-of-concept test of a quadruped robot firing an M72 rocket launcher, according to a Marine Corps news release. Last year a St. Petersburg company offered a rocket-armed robot dog to the Russian military; this appears to be based on the same robot used by the Marines which is a type made in China.

The demonstration, carried out at a firing range at Twentynine Palms in California, was focused on the Kairos remote trigger mechanism rather than the robot. This offers a safe, reliable means to fire a weapon from a distance. The robot dog (which the Marines call a 'robotic goat') was simply a convenient platform used to test different tactical ways of using the trigger, and appears to have been purchased as an off-the-shelf commercial item.

A number of videos originating from China also show armed Unitree robots, like the one used by the Marines. These seem to be largely improvised projects, in the same spirit as the many hastily-assembled but highly effective drone bombers used in Ukraine. The company does not have a specific military model (yet).

The robot in the I Did A Thing video is almost knocked over by the kick of the rifle it fires; with its minimal recoil, the M72 rocket launcher is a simpler weapon to integrate. You can even mount one on a drone.

The Unitree Go1 robot was probably chosen because it is cheap and easily available. You can buy one online for under $3,000 plus shipping, making it more expensive than most drones but with a heavier payload. More sophisticated quadrupeds are more expensive; Boston Dynamics Spot reportedly sells for around $60k, making it much less expendable. In addition, Boston Dynamics have strongly denounced any attempts to use their robots for military purposes and will not support attempts to attach weapons to them. The U.S. military is testing unarmed Ghost Robotics platforms for base patrols.

Bhavanjot Singh, a senior scientific technical manager at the Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), first mentioned potentially arming a Ghost Robotics-manufactured Vision 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV) with the Army's Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle during a late July reception with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., as Janes first reported earlier this month.

The Army has already experimented with mounting an M4A1 carbine on a Q-UGV, according to Janes. But testing the new Sig Sauer XM7 rifle would mark a new frontier for the use of the unmanned robots meant to emulate some of the skills of man's best friend.

When asked about Singh's remarks, DEVCOM spokesman Tim Ryder told Military.com that Army Futures Command "continues to explore the application of human machine integration," while cautioning that the development of a prototype doesn't indicate the weaponized robot dogs will be deployed downrange.

"While advanced technology demonstrations -- in this case, related to the Next Generation Squad Weapon and unmanned ground vehicles -- allow us to explore the realm of the possible when it comes to transformative capabilities for future combat formations, they don't necessarily represent or result in formal service-wide research programs or investments," Ryder said in an email.

Using 6.8mm ammo, the XM7 rifle and its sister weapon, the XM250 automatic rifle, were adopted under the NGSW program in 2022 to replace the M4 carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon respectively in Army arsenals within the next decade. While already popular among U.S. special operations forces, Military.com previously reported that some soldiers expressed concern that the XM7 is too large and heavy to function effectively as a standard infantry rifle.

Meanwhile, robot dogs like the Vision 60 Q-UGV have become an increasingly common fixture across the U.S. military, performing functions like enhancing perimeter security at various installations; augmenting intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities for troops in remote environments; and even carrying out some explosive ordnance disposal tasks at the behest of their uniformed operators.

While semi-autonomous and remotely controlled weapons platforms are already established tools in the U.S. military's toolkit, the prospect of arming robot dogs and sending them into hostile territory alongside U.S. troops has triggered controversy in the robotics industry. Half a dozen robotics companies, including leading firm Boston Dynamics, released a letter last October calling on global militaries to abstain from weaponizing their technology.

"We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely available to the public, and capable of navigating to previously inaccessible locations where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues," the companies said. "Weaponized applications of these newly-capable robots will also harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society."

Those concerns haven't stopped defense contractors from developing novel combinations of unmanned ground robots and weapons systems. In October 2021, Ghost Robotics and SWORD International unveiled a so-called Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle robot dog equipped with a 6.5mm Creedmoor rifle at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference in Washington, D.C. One year later, a viral video from Chinese defense contractor Kestrel Defense showed an unmanned aerial vehicle airdropping a robot dog armed with a Chinese 5.8x42mm QBB-97 light machine gun onto a rooftop during a training simulation.

Multi-legged ground robots "have some promises which we've identified, primarily from a mobility standpoint. ... [But] there are limitations to them as well from an endurance [perspective], as well as the payload capability and power of how much they can support," Milot Resyli, the chief of dismounted robotic systems at DEVCOM's Ground Vehicle Systems Center, told C4ISRNET this past October.

When armed versions are eventually employed, the Defense Department remains committed "to developing and employing all weapon systems, including those with autonomous features and functions, in a responsible and lawful manner," Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks wrote this past January as part of the Pentagon's latest update to DoD Directive 3000.09,

"Autonomy in Weapons Systems," which dictates rules for buying autonomous systems.

Jared Keller is the Managing Editor for content at Military.com. He is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose, where he oversaw daily news and evergreen content strategy, and previously worked for The Atlantic, Bloomberg Media, Al Jazeera America, and Maxim magazine. A former columnist for Pacific Standard magazine (RIP), his writing has appeared in Aeon, Entrepreneur, GQ, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Smithsonian magazine, and many other outlets. Read Full Bio Copyright 2024 Military.com. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request here. You May Also Like Russia's Putin Vows 'Mirror Measures' in Response to US Missiles in Germany Both Washington and Moscow have in recent weeks signaled readiness to deploy intermediate-range ground-based weapons that...

In some cases the robots are used to carry another device, a drone called the Rooster made by the Israeli startup Robotican, per Haaretz. The drone can jump or fly over steps or through windows to enter buildings and identify hazards before soldiers follow.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported the Israeli military found the robot dogs heavy and expensive for tunnel operations, and prefers using small quadcopter drones that can fit in small spaces and create their own radio communication networks.

The Ghost Robotics Q-UGVs in particular are designed to bring a package of electro-optical, acoustic, and other sensors to bear across any challenging terrain and in the toughest of environmental conditions, according to the Air Force.

As our colleagues at The War Zone previously reported, Ghost Robotics in particular envisions its Q-UGVs as capable of hosting a number of unique sensor payloads suited to a variety of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) roles.

Providing persistent, semi-autonomous perimeter security and augmenting the ISTAR capabilities of U.S. service members deployed to global hotspots appear logical missions for robot dogs, but in the years since their adoption at Tyndall and other Air Force installations, the employment of Q-UGVs has expanded beyond merely patrolling sensitive installations.

Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

2024 Recurrent. All rights reserved.

Due to the demands of the region, adding quadruped mechanical reinforcements is a smart use of resources. Despite the dangers, and maybe even using them as cover, there are many types of illegal activity that happen in the harsh border zones.

S&T has been working with CBP, Ghost Robotics, and the team for about two and a half years on specifications, development, and capability testing. This collaboration has yielded important CBP mission-focused advancements to the AGSV platform.

Then, the testing transitioned to an indoor training facility that was built to replicate a residential building. There, the robot dogs would encounter a scenario that simulated being met by potentially hostile individuals. Set to the operator driven mode and using the wireless connection, the operator would maneuver the AGSVs to enter the structure, move through hallways, and peer around corners, as well as navigate stairs.

3a8082e126