Mechanized War: Army planning to use robots to fight militancy

The Indian army could soon use robots to fight militancy in the state, a media report said.

According to Hindustan Times, robotic weapons could be introduced by the Defence Ministry which will help forces in counter-insurgency as well as counter-militant operations.

This move might be taken in order to reduce the number of injuries to the soldiers when faced with armed militants or even stone-pelting protesters.

The newspaper quoting defence ministry officials said that the army proposal which has raised a demand for 544 robots to be used during anti-insurgency operations has been accepted.

“The way the situation is evolving (in J&K), it may just be a matter of time when security forces as a whole, and Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in particular, will be facing the threat in built-up and super built-up areas,” the army said, making a strong case for robotic platforms.

The robots to be made indigenously could be used to deliver ammunition like stun grenades at militant hideouts besides gathering real-time inputs prior to manual insertion, said the report.

The “lightweight and rugged” robots will consist of several subsystems such as surveillance cameras and transmission systems with a range of 200 metres, it added.

For the past eight months, CAIR, a DRDO lab leading India’s research in artificial intelligence, has been working on this project. This will equip India’s armed forces with a host of robots that can work as a team in collaboration.

These robots are being built keeping in mind the current military scenario which demands operations in different conditions—environmental and terrain. Besides, the robots will also be able to work in indoor conditions, enabling deployment at various key establishments.

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