Get Task & Purpose in your inbox
MOST READ
The future is here, and with it comes a potential replacement for combat troops: badass unmanned aerial vehicles that drop ordnance and take out enemy targets with a delightful arsenal of built-in armaments. Now, one company wants to to eliminate the need for boots on the ground altogether
In a video published on Aug. 8, Florida-based startup Duke Robotics bills the TIKAD, a gun-toting drone bristling with weapons, as “the future soldier.” Though the name suggests it’s an acronym, there’s no evidence to support that, but we think it might stand for “Totally Insane Killer Aerial Drone,” because it can go places that are too dangerous for troops.
Remotely piloted, the remote-controlled eight-rotor TIKAD can carry up to three times its weight and is equipped to man a variety of different weapons, including machine guns. And it can be operated by soldiers on a tablet from remote locations, according to Extreme Tech.
Duke Robotics is framing the TIKAD as a simple solution for a voting public exhausted by rising casualty count of America’s forever wars. “Troops can use TIKAD to handle potentially dangerous situations quickly and efficiently from the air, reducing the need to send our sons and daughters into harm’s way,” the company claims. “This technology also allows troops to potentially disarm a situation remotely, without ever deploying a ground presence.”
The Department of Defense is reportedly already impressed with TIKAD. In 2016, the drone was awarded two prizes by the Pentagon: The Security Innovation Award and first prize at the Combating Terrorism Technology Conference sponsored by the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, according to Guns.com.
“Warfare is inevitable,” the company says. “Mass casualties should not be. Our defense technology is changing constantly, but until now, there has never been a solution that truly prevents casualties.” The company hopes TIKAD will fill that need, but so far, only the Israeli military is has publicly voiced interested in TIKAD.
In its 2017 budget request, the Pentagon asked Congress for $4.61 billion for drones, less than in previous years, due to the drawdown, but we can only imagine that number will rise as drone warfare proves a safer, more efficient option for warfighting.
Task & Purpose reached out to Duke Robotics and will update as more information becomes available.
The White House doctor still under investigation for doling out pills like a ‘candy man’ is now running for Congress
Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician and retired Navy rear admiral who had a short run as the nominee for the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018, now plans to run for a seat in Congress.
Pentagon implements 'operational pause' on training of foreign students after Pensacola shooting
The Pentagon will implement an "operational pause" on the training of foreign students inside the United States as the military undergoes a review of screening procedures, according to senior defense officials.
University of Phoenix to pay $191 million for lying to troops about its close ties with major companies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The University of Phoenix, which is owned by Apollo Education Group, has agreed to pay $191 million to settle charges that it falsely advertised close ties with major U.S. companies that could lead to jobs for students, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.
The University of Phoenix will pay $50 million to the FTC to return to consumers and cancel $141 million in student debt.
Some of the advertisements targeted military and Hispanic students, the FTC said.
Soldiers may soon start using VR to practice detecting IEDs
As UCF research associate Shane Reynolds guides his avatar over a virtual minefield using his iPad, small beeps and whistles reveal the location of the scourge of the modern war zone: Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs. He must take his time to sweep every last inch of the playing field to make sure his character doesn't miss any of the often-deadly bombs.
Despite his slow pace, Reynolds makes a small misstep and with a kaboom! a bomb blows up his player, graphically scattering body parts.
Navy posthumously awards aviator and air crew wings to 3 sailors killed in Pensacola shooting
The Navy has posthumously awarded aviator and aircrewman wings to three sailors killed in last week's shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
"The selfless acts of heroism displayed by these young Sailors the morning of Dec. 6 are nothing short of incredible," Chief of Naval Air Training Rear Adm. Daniel Dwyer said in a statement.