Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) on the battlefield are an established fact.
If, until a few years ago, anyone doubted the feasibility of this technology, he should look to the Order of Battle of the US Army to understand the global trend – in 2004 the US Army had about 150 UGVs, and today their ORBAT consists of tens of thousands.
Admittedly, this is a problematic technology, to say the least, in terms of ethics and safety, but as far as operational aspects are concerned, a UGV fitted with a Remotely Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) is the ‘Silver Bullet’ in the eyes of many. “The development of weapon stations for UGVs is one of the objectives of Rafael’s business strategy,” says Yizhar S., in charge of land systems marketing at Rafael. “One should bear in mind that this technology precedes most of the world in this field. We are currently participating in one of the world’s first projects involving the mounting of a weapon station on a UGV used by IDF."
The technological complexity notwithstanding, there is still no structured regulation around the world for the field of shooter UGVs. “This technology will remain the domain of very few countries in the future as well,” says Yizhar S. “The target audience for these vehicles will be relatively limited, owing to safety considerations. At the same time, as long as there is demand in the IDF, we will continue to develop this field. In the world of HLS it is not likely that shooter UGVs will enter service with police forces and we would see them on city streets. In the end, what you have here is an unmanned, armed vehicle that you want to deploy in an urban environment teeming with people. There is still a lot of apprehension around this issue.”
