'AI Robot' With Cannons Deployed In Iraq, Performs Better Than Expected

The conflict in the middle-east has just gotten a lot more high tech, with Iraqi forces being joined by an actual drone tank. What’s more, the robot is equipped with a 12.7mm cannon and 70mm Katyusha rockets. This makes the war machine called “Al Robot” or “The Robot” in English the deadliest land infantry unit that’s ready for ground assaults in the outfit.

“Al Robot” looks like the hybrid child of a military Humvee and an ATV, Inverse reports. It’s roughly the size of an XUV but looks significantly more durable. It was designed by the Popular Mobilization Unit or PMU.

The drone tank was recently deployed in Mosul and saw combat shortly after. According to what a spokesperson of PMU told Motherboard during an interview, “Al Robot” is performing better than they could have hoped for. The publication was also told about what role the machine will likely take in the fight against Iraq’s enemies.

“The combat robot is used in three primary missions,” the spokesperson said. “Nighttime hunter missions, daytime combat missions and all-day support role for any troops requiring it. Hunter operations utilize the very high quality thermal optical camera on the robot to find ISIS targets at night. The target information can be given to either our designated sniper or relayed to Iraqi central command for Iraqi Air Force F16 strike or Mi-35 gunship strike with ATAKA guided missiles.”

There are also plans to add stabilized gun turrets on the machine to allow for more accurate burst shots when moving on uneven terrain, according to a Tweet by the PMU. This is useful because the robot is still being controlled by humans and the better the targeting system, the less likely the collateral damage.

“Al Robot” was actually created by two Iraqi brothers and debuted the earlier in the year, Futurism reports. Now, it joins a slew of other unmanned land combat vehicles that are being used to decimate less technologically advanced enemies.