The US Army is testing robot dogs mounted with AI-enabled guns at a military facility in the Middle East, according to Military.com. Photos shared by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) show one such robot dog undergoing “rehearsals” at the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center in Saudi Arabia in mid-September as part of a recent counter-unmanned aerial system exercise. The four-legged robot can be seen mounted with what appears to be an AR-15/M16 pattern rifle on a rotating turret and resembles the robot system that the US Army tested at Fort Drum, New York in August. 

The US Army describes the robot dog as a four-legged unmanned ground vehicle (UGVs) armed with an artificial intelligence-enabled rifle – contributing to innovative unmanned capabilities. Notably, DVIDS is an operation run by the US Department of Defence to provide media on its activities across the world.

Speaking to Military.com, a US Army Central spokesman said that the armed robot dog was one of several “non-counter-sUAS” systems tested alongside 15 counter-drone platforms at Red Sands during the September test. The gun engaged several static ground targets, the official said without elaborating on its potential applications. 

Meanwhile, the US Defence Department has been incorporating robot dogs and other autonomous ground vehicles in its formations over the last few years. Additionally, the Pentagon has increasingly experimented with mounting weapons systems on robot dogs. 

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The Marine Corps, in particular, has tested quadrupedal robots outfitted with both Onyx Industries’ SENTRY remote weapon system and the M72 LAW anti-tank rocket launcher, while the Army has considered outfitting mechanized canines with the new 6.8mm XM7 rifle the service recently fielded under its Next Generation Squad Weapon program to replace the M4 carbine, the outlet reported. 

Notably, the US military isn’t the only country pursuing four-legged weapon combat robots. In May, the Chinese military debuted its own robot dog armed with an assault rifle during a training exercise in Cambodia. The video of the robot dog was released by state broadcaster CCTV.

“It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our (human) members to conduct reconnaissance and identify (the) enemy and strike the target,” a soldier named Chen Wei said in the video.