Editing Military robot (section)

==History==
[[File:tt-26.jpg|thumb|Soviet TT-26 [[teletank]], February 1940]]
[[File:Mini-tanks-p012953.jpg|thumb|British soldiers with captured German [[Goliath tracked mine|Goliath]] remote-controlled demolition vehicles (Battle of Normandy, 1944)]]

Broadly defined, military robots date back to [[World War&nbsp;II]] and the [[Cold War]] in the form of the German [[Goliath tracked mine]]s and the Soviet [[teletank]]s. The introduction of the [[General Atomics MQ-1 Predator|MQ-1 Predator]] drone was when "[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officers began to see the first practical returns on their decade-old fantasy of using aerial robots to collect intelligence".<ref>Steve Coll, ''Ghost Wars'' (Penguin, 2005 edn), pp.529 and 658 note 6.</ref>

The use of [[robots]] in [[warfare]], although traditionally a topic for [[science fiction]], is being researched as a possible future means of fighting [[wars]]. Already several military robots have been developed by various armies. Some believe the future of modern warfare will be fought by automated weapons systems.<ref>[http://www.spawar.navy.mil/robots/ Robots and Robotics at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990220191744/http://www.spawar.navy.mil/robots/ |date=1999-02-20 }}</ref> The [[U.S. military]] is investing heavily in the [[RQ-1 Predator]], which can be armed with [[air-to-ground missile]]s and remotely operated from a command center in reconnaissance roles. [[DARPA]] has hosted competitions in 2004 & 2005 to involve private companies and universities to develop [[unmanned ground vehicle]]s to navigate through rough terrain in the [[Mojave Desert]] for a final prize of 2 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandchallenge.org/|title=Welcome to Grandchallenge|website=www.grandchallenge.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001310/http://www.grandchallenge.org/|archive-date=2007-10-11}}</ref>

[[Artillery]] has seen promising research with an experimental weapons system named "[[Dragon Fire (mortar)|Dragon Fire&nbsp;II]]" which automates loading and ballistics calculations required for accurate predicted fire, providing a 12-second response time to [[fire support]] requests. However, military weapons are prevented from being fully autonomous; they require human input at certain intervention points to ensure that targets are not within restricted fire areas as defined by Geneva Conventions for the [[laws of war]].

There have been some developments towards developing autonomous fighter jets and bombers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/403762/the-ascent-of-the-robotic-attack-jet/|title=The Ascent of the Robotic Attack Jet|first=David|last=Talbot|website=[[MIT Technology Review]]}}</ref> The use of autonomous fighters and bombers to destroy enemy targets is especially promising because of the lack of training required for robotic pilots, autonomous planes are capable of performing maneuvers which could not otherwise be done with human pilots (due to high amount of [[G-force]]), plane designs do not require a life support system, and a loss of a plane does not mean a loss of a pilot. However, the largest drawback to robotics is their inability to accommodate for non-standard conditions. Advances in [[artificial intelligence]] in the near future may help to rectify this.

In 2020 a [[STM Kargu|Kargu 2]] drone hunted down and attacked a human target in [[Libya]], according to a report from the [[UN Security Council]]’s Panel of Experts on Libya, published in March 2021. This may have been the first time an [[:Lethal autonomous weapon|autonomous killer robot]] armed with lethal weaponry attacked human beings.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hambling|first=David|title=Drones may have attacked humans fully autonomously for the first time|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2278852-drones-may-have-attacked-humans-fully-autonomously-for-the-first-time/|access-date=2021-05-30|website=[[New Scientist]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-29|title=Killer drone 'hunted down a human target' without being told to|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/killer-drone-hunted-down-a-human-target-without-being-told-to|access-date=2021-05-30|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}</ref>