via Israel Hayom
During Operation Protective Edge, the Israel Defense Forces used a unmanned armored personnel carrier, a first in history. The vehicle was used to deliver supplies to soldiers on the battlefield.The USMC and US Army have been pursuing this tech for years. Its been ready to go but for some reason neither service has gone forward with it.
"This is history," Lt. Avidav Goldstein, the head of the IDF's unmanned vehicle unit, said. "I feel we really broke ground in this realm. This is the first time in history, throughout the world, that such a thing has been done."
The IDF modified an old M113 APC (the type of APC in which seven Golani Brigade soldiers were killed by an anti-tank missile in Shujaiyya), giving it the ability to carry several tons of supplies to soldiers in the field without endangering lives.
The unmanned APC can travel 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour) and hold around four tons of equipment. It is operated remotely by soldiers in a control vehicle, located inside Israel, which has a steering wheel, pedals and a screen.
The IDF did.
I wonder where this will lead. The obvious would be combat engineer vehicles operating unmanned in a route clearance role. Eventually you might even see a platoon of unmanned tanks being controlled by a command staff in an accompanying APC/IFV.
However this develops it looks like armored vehicles are going to take a step forward into the unmanned field.
