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Runaway1956 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Israeli firm unveils autonomous armed robot to patrol battle zones, borders
But life-or-death decision to open fire will remain in the hands of human controllers for the time being, Israel Aerospace Industries says of its ‘REX MKII’ vehicle
13 September 2021, 2:10 pm

An Israeli defense contractor on Monday unveiled a remote-controlled armed robot it says can patrol battle zones, track infiltrators and open fire. The unmanned vehicle is the latest addition to the world of drone technology, which is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield.

Proponents say such semi-autonomous machines allow armies to protect their soldiers, while critics fear this marks another dangerous step toward robots making life-or-death decisions.

The four-wheel-drive robot presented Monday in Lod was developed by the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries’ “REX MKII.”

It is operated by an electronic tablet and can be equipped with two machine guns, cameras and sensors, said Rani Avni, deputy head of the company’s autonomous systems division. The robot can gather intelligence for ground troops, carry injured soldiers and supplies in and out of battle, and strike nearby targets.

It is the most advanced of more than half a dozen unmanned vehicles developed by Aerospace Industries’ subsidiary, ELTA Systems, over the past 15 years.

The Israeli military is currently using a smaller but similar vehicle called the Jaguar to patrol the border with the Gaza Strip and help enforce a blockade Israel imposed in 2007, after the tiny territory was seized from the Palestinian Authority by the Islamic terror group Hamas. Israel maintains the blockade to prevent Hamas from acquiring weapons that would be used on the Jewish state.

Gaza is home to 2 million Palestinians who have largely been locked in by the blockade, which is also supported to some extent by Egypt which operates a civilian border crossing in and out of the enclave. The border area with Israel is the site of frequent protests and occasional attempts by Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate into Israel.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-firm-unveils-autonomous-armed-robot-to-patrol-battle-zones-borders/ [timesofisrael.com]

Israeli firm introduces armed combat drone to patrol borders
State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries on Monday unveiled a remote-controlled armed robot drone it says can patrol battle zones, track infiltrators and open fire.

Israeli state-owned defence contractor Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled a remote-controlled armed robot it says can patrol battle zones, track infiltrators and open fire.

The unmanned vehicle revealed on Monday is the latest addition to the world of drone technology, which is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield.

Proponents have said such semi-autonomous machines allow armies to protect their soldiers, while critics fear this marks another dangerous step towards robots making life-or-death decisions.

The four-wheel-drive robot presented Monday was developed by the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries’ “REX MKII”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/13/israeli-firm-introduces-armed-combat-drone-to-patrol-borders [aljazeera.com]

Several other sites carrying very similar stories.

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-09-israeli-firm-unveils-armed-robot.html [techxplore.com]
https://slickgunsnews.com/robogrunt-israel-to-patrol-its-borders-with-armed-robots/ [slickgunsnews.com]
https://newsnationusa.com/news/usanews/washington/israeli-firm-unveils-armed-robot-to-patrol-volatile-borders/ [newsnationusa.com]

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