--- title: "Alarming Footage Shows Robot Battle Tank Blowing Up Cars" description: "A new video shared by Estonian robotics and autonomous systems developer Milrem Robotics shows an autonomous tank blowing up cars and other targets." date: "2022-06-16" modified: "2022-06-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-battle-tank-blowing-up-cars" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "tanks" - "the digest" --- # Alarming Footage Shows Robot Battle Tank Blowing Up Cars ![A new video shared by Estonian robotics and autonomous systems developer Milrem Robotics shows an autonomous tank blowing up cars and other targets.]() *\Image: Milrem Robotics\* ## Fire Power A new video shared by Estonian robotics and autonomous systems developer Milrem Robotics shows an AI-powered tank blowing up cars and other targets, in a terrifying glimpse of the future of warfare. The tank, dubbed [Type-X](), is designed to allow troops to "breach enemy defensive positions with minimal risk," according to a [2021 statement]() from Milrem Robotics, by providing them with "equal or overmatching firepower and tactical usage to a unit equipped with Infantry Fighting vehicles." Its navigation and obstacle detection systems are powered by AI, according to the company, giving it a rather terrifying edge over any human adversaries. https://youtu.be/cbK89GzlYxw ## Testing, Testing The tank can be outfitted with massive cannons, anti-tank missiles, and even tethered drones for remote reconnaissance. During the latest test, as seen in the video, Milrem teamed up with Norway's Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace to outfit the tank with a 30 mm cannon. "You want to send them to take the most dangerous positions because there \[are\] no men inside it," Gert Hankewitz, director of market and export control at Milrem, [told *National Defense*]() earlier this week. "If it gets blown up, everybody in the manned vehicles behind it will stay safe." Despite the rather obvious ethical implications of having an AI-powered system take care of the dirty work remotely, the company has raised substantial funds from the European Commission to develop a washing machine-sized unmanned ground vehicle called [THeMIS ]()(Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System), which can provide troops with means of transport, as well as detecting and disposing of IEDs. It's not a stretch to suggest that this is what the future of war looks like — and it's looking more hellish than ever. **READ MORE:** [Robot Tank Firing at Cars and Other Targets Is the Stuff of Nightmares]() \[*autoevolution*\] **More on AI tanks:** *[The Military Wants to Build Deadly AI-Controlled Tanks]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()