Unmanned ground vehicles replace soldiers in breaching exercise

Humans have taken a backseat at a base exercise in which robots cleared obstacles for manned tanks and fighting vehicles. U.S. and British troops participated in the Robotic Complex Breach Concept demonstration, during which several unmanned remote-controlled combat vehicles performed a task usually carried out by soldiers. “We did a robotic breach today, which has never been done before. This is a historic moment,” says 1st Lt. Cody Rothschild, an officer with the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, currently on rotation in Europe. “This is a great step forward for the Army, and for robotics.” The rotational armor brigade was the main armor element during the exercise. It provided suppressing fire with M1A2 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, while remote-controlled U.K. Terrier engineering vehicles cleared a simulated minefield and bridged a tank trench.