The four-wheel-drive driverless vehicle has been named Rex MkII and can be equipped with cameras, sensors and two machine guns, says Rani Avni, who is deputy head of the company’s department for autonomous systems.
Supporters of this type of technology say it can help armed forces protect their soldiers. Critics fear it is a new and dangerous step in the direction of robots making decisions about life and death.
Rex MkII, which was unveiled at a trade fair in London, is remotely controlled with a tablet and should be able to collect intelligence information, transport the wounded and shoot at targets nearby. It is the most advanced in the line of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Aerospace Industries’ subsidiary ELTA over the past 15 years.
The Israeli military today uses a similar but less driverless vehicle called the Jaguar to patrol the border with the Gaza Strip and maintain the blockade imposed in 2007.
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