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ARDEC Provides Glimpse of Possible Future Warfare
PICATINNY, N.J. -- The Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center here and Army Special Operations Command jointly hosted a
demonstration of modular payload systems on robotic platforms from July 14-17 at Avon Park Bombing Range, Fla.
ARDEC's contribution to this demonstration consisted of modular
armament payloads including the M202, 40mm grenade launcher and telepresent
rapid aiming and pointing system -- all of which wwere mounted individually
on a Talon robot.
Five non-commissioned officers from ARDEC's Explosive Ordnance
Disposal Unit participated in the demonstration and highlighted the
capabilities of armed, unmanned ground vehicles in tactical operations.
The soldiers accomplished the goal of this technology demonstration,
which was to show the operational
utility of arming robots and to generate user interest in the concept of
armed robots on the battlefield. The robot platforms demonstrated were the
Talon robot developed by Foster-Miller Inc. This robot was a logical choice
since it is already in service with joint service EOD units and soldiers are
experienced with its
operation.
Additionally, the Talon robot has an articulating arm that
facilitates attaching and aiming weapons. The robots were integrated with
one of three armament systems: an M202 Light-Anti-tank Weapon (four 66mm
rockets), a 6 barrel 40mm grenade launcher, or a small arms weapon mounted
on the TRAP) system produced by Precision Remotes.
While many people are fearful that armed robots will run amok on the
battlefield, this was not an issue for the demonstration. The robots employ
a "man in the loop" where they are always under director control of a
soldier.
The soldier issues commands to the robot and weapons through a
operator control unit. Commands to rocket and grenade launchers are
communicated through a newly developed remote firing and control system. The
RFACS allows a single soldier to control up to five separate firing systems
using
a 40-bit encryption security system.
Adding to the overall safety of the system, Picatinny engineers
completed a variety of tests on the system including software operation,
electromagnetic effects and shock and vibration.
The demonstration started with a Talon robot driving over
anti-personnel land mines to place an explosive charge on an anti-tank mine,
followed by a live fire of all three armament systems engaging targets out
to 450 meters in single fire and automatic fire modes.
Visitors to the demo watched the live fire events and then received
detailed briefings on the operation of
the systems.
The EOD soldiers learned much about the performance of the system
and identified a number of potentialimprovements to make the system even
more lethal.
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