Intensive Drone Military Testing Yields Promising Results

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The US recently concluded a series of experiments on new tech during Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PC-C4), involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Space Force. Over 4000 participants tested multiple new advanced tech platforms, and according to the DoD press release, the promising results signal the future integration of advanced tech into army units.

According to Cybernews, one example of how advanced technology can be integrated is by using robotic dogs and UASs to sense the environment. US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said he was amazed after observing a light infantry company that was operating in a simulated urban environment together with some new robotic companions. “That was all tied together by a very simple command and control network that was easy to use and intuitive, it was amazing.” George also noted the importance of testing equipment in the environments the units are actually going to need to operate in, and not in a showroom.

One of the released photos shows an infantryman assembling the Ghost-X UAS during the human-machine integration experiment. The UAS was developed by Anduril Industries, is capable of 75 min flight time, has a range of 25km, weighs 25kg, and can carry a 9kg payload. Its “Point and Click Mission Planning” enables safe and effective flights with minimal input and training, intelligence teaming, and lets operators control multiple drones at a time.

Another photo depicts soldiers assisted by the Ghost Robotic Dog, which was developed by GhostRobotics. It is “a mid-sized high-endurance, agile and durable all-weather ground drone for use in a broad range of unstructured urban and natural environments for defense, homeland, and enterprise applications,” as described by the company.

Other tested equipment included augmented reality headsets, unmanned all-terrain transport vehicles armed with autonomous weapons, and many other unmanned systems.