--- title: "US Army Brags About Plans to Mount Rifle on Robot Dog" description: "The brain geniuses at the Pentagon have decided that a good use of the taxpayer dollar is to attach rifles onto the backs of robot dogs." date: "2023-08-31" modified: "2023-08-31" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/army-rifle-robot-dog" categories: - "Robot Dogs" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "military tech" - "robodog" - "RoboDogs" - "the digest" --- # US Army Brags About Plans to Mount Rifle on Robot Dog ![The brain geniuses at the Pentagon have decided that a good use of the taxpayer dollar is to attach rifles onto the backs of robot dogs.]() *The Ghost Robotics Vision 60 is seen during 2022 RobotWorld hold in KINTEX, on October 28, 2022 in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. (Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Woof The brain geniuses at the Pentagon have decided that a good use of the taxpayer dollar is to attach rifles onto robot dogs, because why the hell not, right? As [*Military.com* reports](), a spokesperson for the US Army said that the branch is considering 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 combat. The vision, as you've probably gathered, is pretty simple: to mount a rifle onto a robotic dog for domestic tasks across the military — and send it out into an unspecified battlefield. First reported earlier this month by the [intelligence service *Janes*](), the Army's desire to slap a weapon on one of Ghost Robotics' Vision 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV) — which is robotics manufacturing-speak for a [competitor]() to [Boston Dynamics' infamous robodog]() used by the likes of the [New York Police Department]() — seemed to be softly confirmed by a spokesperson *Military.com* talked to. ## Puppy Play In that previous reporting, scientific researcher Bhavanjot Singh of the Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) said that the branch had already begun experimenting with mounting other kinds of weaponry onto Q-UGVs — but further experiments, he said, would test out some of the 'bots more canine-specific qualities. "The unique capability of the dog is the ability to traverse different types of terrain that wheeled vehicles may not be able to go," Singh reportedly said at a gathering of lawmakers in late July where one of the armed robodog units was on display. That said, exploration and interest do not necessarily mean that these robotic gun-toting pooches will be coming to a battlefield anytime soon, DEVCOM spokesperson Tim Ryder told the website. "While advanced technology demonstrations... allow us to explore the realm of the possible when it comes to transformative capabilities for future combat formations," Ryder said, "they don't necessarily represent or result in formal service-wide research programs or investments." All the same, these purported experiments alone represent step further into weird ethical territory — and it makes it seem like the military may be going to the dogs. **More on military tech:** [*Chinese Military Says It's Figured Out How to Build Laser Weapons that Can Fire Indefinitely*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()