The US will be deploying robots equipped with automatic weapons to Iraq as early as March or April. The cost is about $250,000, but when mass produced should drop to about $100,000. From the Times;
..."These robots have no fear," John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an online military research firm in Virginia, said. "They can advance into enemy fire in a way that human soldiers will not.Units equipped with rocket and grenade launchers will soon be deployed as well.
"What's more, these robots don't need retirement benefits, they don't have to be paid a re-enlistment bonus and they can be boxed up and warehoused between wars. They also, of course, don't have loved ones who miss them and mourn them - and they can be produced in huge numbers."
Welcome to the future of warfare; a future that includes a number of nightmarish scenarios. Those who can afford such deadly toys should be assured of global domination. Right now, these units are controlled by soldiers. How long until they can be programmed to function autonomously? Who knows. Maybe we should ask the governor of California?
J.
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