China shows off robot dogs armed with MACHINE GUNS

05/26/2024 / By Zoey Sky

The Chinese military recently showed off several robot dogs outfitted with machine guns on their backs during “Golden Dragon,” the country’s biggest-ever drill alongside Cambodian troops this May.

The terrifying robodogs armed with machine guns were part of a 15-day military exercise called “Golden Dragon” that was held in a remote training center in central Cambodia, off the country’s coast.

At the event, more than 2,000 troops, including 760 Chinese military personnel, will take part in the drills at a remote training center in central Kampong Chhnang Province and the sea off Preah Sihanouk Province.

Golden Dragon also involves 14 warships, with three warships from China, two helicopters and 69 armored vehicles and tanks. Additionally, the event will also include live-fire, anti-terrorism and humanitarian rescue drills.

Chinese military personnel showed off robodogs, which are remote-controlled four-legged robots with machine guns mounted on their backs. The handlers kept the military robodogs on the leash and only demonstrated their walking capabilities to watching journalists and top brass. The machine guns were allegedly not fired during the drills.

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vong Pisen opened the exercises and said they would “enhance the capabilities” of the two armies in the battle against terrorism.

Pisen said Cambodia would never allow a foreign military base on its territory, echoing previous claims by Cambodian leaders.

After Cambodia dismantled facilities at Ream Naval Base near Sihanoukville, a Cambodian port city, which was built partly with United States funding and having played host to U.S. military exercises, China started funding its renovation.

Two Chinese warships docked at Ream in December 2023 for the first time after work began to expand the base.

Washington reported that Ream could give Beijing a crucial strategic position on the Gulf of Thailand near the often disputed South China Sea.

Earlier in May, Cambodian army spokesman Thong Solimo told reporters that the exercises were the biggest ever of their kind. China covered the cost of the military exercises.

Golden Dragon and the launch of China’s formidable robot dogs give a glimpse of the dystopian vision of what the future of warfare could look like. (Related: Chinese military-industrial complex flexes muscle in video featuring drone transporting an armed robodog.)

U.S. Army to arm robot dogs with state-of-the-art rifles

Experts have previously warned that the use of armed drones or “killer robots,” especially autonomous drones, is “an ethical minefield that should be internationally banned from the battlefield.”

However, the warnings from concerned experts did not stop military forces and local enforcement in America from investing in the technology. In 2023, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. Army is thinking of arming remote-controlled robot dogs with state-of-the-art rifles as part of its plan to “explore the realm of the possible” in the future of warfare.

Ghost Robotics, a U.S.-based military contractor, has already shown off such a robot dog, which was armed with a long-distance rifle.

But as far as Boston Dynamics’ popular Spot Mini robot dog is concerned, the company has insisted that attaching weapons to the robot dog is against its terms of service.

In an open letter, Boston Dynamics has promised that the company will not weaponize their advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software they develop that enables advanced robotics and will “not support others to do so.”

Visit Robots.news for more stories about robots, AI and the dangers of this kind of technology.

Watch the video below to see Israel testing robot dogs in Gaza.

This video is from the Vigilent Citizen channel on Brighteon.com.