Australians are learning to fight robots. Yesterday, November 24, the press service of BAE Systems Australia announced the delivery of twenty M113 AS4 robotic infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Ministry of Defense.
Australia has been testing robotic military equipment since 2019. Initially, the Ministry of Defense ordered BAE Systems to equip two M113 AS4 vehicles with remote control systems. Later, the project was modernized, and the Australian army received four IFVs equipped with an artificial intelligence system that allows the vehicles to move autonomously, under the control of an operator, or with a crew inside.
Tests of the M113 AS4 robotic BMP
Now the project has moved to the stage of final tests, during which twenty robotic M113 AS4 will be actively involved in various combat operations. If the Australian Army is satisfied with the results, a large-scale program of converting the aging M113 AS4 infantry fighting vehicles into robots may follow in the coming years.
In the US Army, the M113 BMP was nicknamed the "aluminum coffin" for insufficient protection from mines and land mines. This machine has been in service with the American army for more than half a century, and has also been exported to dozens of countries.