Washington: It has been informed from Washington that Robotank will be introduced to assist US army in the battle field in the near future.
This is said to be the most hi-tech tanks ever manufactured and doesn’t even need a driver.
The US Army has revealed that it has been testing the vehicle, known as Ripsaw.
The ‘drone tank can be controlled by remote, and reload itself and even change weapons by pressing a button.
Army bosses are of the opinion that it could lead the US troops in the battle field one day.
The unmanned vehicle, though still
in developmental stage, has been tested and studied its unique capabilities. It has been found that it could be driven up to 1 kilometer ahead of various types of formations.
During tests, the Ripsaw was followed by a M 113 Armored Personnel Carrier.
Trailing up to a kilometer behind, the M 113 was driven by a Soldier.
Another Soldier, in the vehicle, would control the weapons in the Ripsaw with the support of wireless devices.
Bob Testa of the Remote Weapons Branch of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center said that his team selected a vehicle already produced by Howe and Howe Technologies since it had remote driving facilities.
In 2009, ‘Popular Science’ magazine had named the Ripsaw as the invention of the year, so the technology has been around for a while.
But Testa and his team who had been working on this technology has now succeeded in converting the vehicle for the front-line usage of the army.
They additionally incorporated a Common Remotely Operated Weapons (CROWS) in the Robotank.
CROWS has been in use for combat since the 2004 Iraq war.
One Robotank can accommodate only one soldier at a time.
He does not have to stick his head out to see the environments.
Cameras and range finders on CROWS will see for him and the system will be tilted and the weapons get turned towards the required direction.
The capability could save the lives of a lot of soldiers.
But the Soldier inside the vehicle could still be killed or injured from a large enemy mine or projectile.
So Testa’s team had been trying to bring the remotely-operated system one step further.
Thus, they modified the system to be performed with out the presence of any soldiers inside.
Video on Robotank
