America's Robot Army

clipped from www.popularmechanics.com America's Robot Army: Are Unmanned Fighters Ready for Combat? Unmanned fighters now come armed to the threads. But are they really ready for combat in the Iraq war? Customer: U.S. Army ordered more than 1700 for 15 brigades, a potential human-to-robot ratio of 29:1 | Deployment: Ready for combat as early as 2014 | Models: Half will be armed; the rest will clear minefields and haul gear | Cargo capability: 1800 to 2000 pounds | Weapons: Four antitank Javelin missiles and a turret-mounted M240 machine gun. (Photograph by Chad Hunt) clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.popularmechanics.com This prototype of the Gladiator, built by Carnegie Mellon, is equipped with smoke generators and grenade launchers. Marine Corps officials say they will field-test the latest, 1-ton version this year. (Photograph by Craig Cameron Olsen) clipped from www.popularmechanics.com clipped from www.youtube.com Crusher - 1 clipped from www.youtube.com Military Autogun prototype clipped from www.popularmechanics.com RELATED STORIES • PODCAST: Inside Pentagon's Armed Robot Pullout in Iraq • PLUS: Top 5 Military Bots the U.S. Military Doesn't Have • TIME MACHINE: Before Bots, Military Weapons in Classic PM