BEIJING: China’s latest gun-toting quadruped military “wolf” robots are designed to stealthily approach enemies, fire precise shots on targets and work in rough terrain, state media said on Wednesday.
State broadcaster CCTV said the robots, an upgrade from earlier robotic dog iterations, can replace human soldiers in dangerous conditions to reduce combat casualties.
China has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts say it might already have the upper hand over the United States.
Its military has been keen to showcase its defense innovation — including weapons incorporating advanced technology like robodogs — during drills with countries like Cambodia.
In a video posted by CCTV on Wednesday, the newest iteration of the robot “wolves” carries a rifle on its back, marching into a smoke-filled battlefield.
The agile machines climb up flights of stairs, carry heavy backpacks and launch attacks on dummies, clips showed.
While they look almost identical to the military’s robodogs, the “wolves” have improved “reconnaissance and strike capabilities,” CCTV said.
“They can navigate various terrains and carry out precision strikes from up to 100 meters (328 feet) away,” it added.
During war, the robots would be able to operate like a real wolf pack, dividing tasks and coordinating with each other, state media said.
At the front of the unit would be the “pack leader,” responsible for gathering target information and transmitting reconnaissance imagery, CCTV said.
Others would be in charge of shooting at enemies or carrying supplies and ammunition, it added.
These new robots could signal that the future battlefield will be more automated and deadly, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.
It is “in part to instill national pride domestically, but also to intimidate potential adversaries externally,” Chong said.
Dogs of war: China touts killer robot ‘wolves’
https://arab.news/jfaym
Dogs of war: China touts killer robot ‘wolves’
- China has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts say it might already have the upper hand over the United States
- State broadcaster CCTV said the robots, an upgrade from earlier robotic dog iterations, can replace human soldiers in dangerous conditions to reduce combat casualties
Migrant charities call on Italy to ID dead washed ashore
- Local news reports in recent days have indicated that approximately a dozen bodies of migrants, many in an advanced stage of decomposition, had been discovered on various southern Italian beaches
ROME: Italian migrant charities called on authorities Friday to promptly identify the dead migrants whose bodies have washed up on Italy’s shores in recent weeks following Cyclone Harry.
The non-profit groups said they had urged national and local authorities to “immediately activate all necessary procedures for the identification of bodies recovered along the Sicilian and Calabrian coasts... in order to provide answers to the many families searching for their loved ones.”
The groups Memoria Mediterranea, the Association for Legal Studies on Immigration (ASGI) and Mediterranea Saving Humans joined with European organization Alarm Phone — whose hotline accepts distress calls from migrants at sea — in calling for swift action.
Local news reports in recent days have indicated that approximately a dozen bodies of migrants, many in an advanced stage of decomposition, had been discovered on various southern Italian beaches.
In a statement, the groups said hundreds of people departed from the eastern Tunisian city of Sfax in January, many of them between January 14 and 21, when Cyclone Harry hit the central Mediterranean.
“According to reports from the organizations Mediterranea, Refugees in Libya, and Alarm Phone, more than ten boats departed during that period, with an estimated total of at least 1,000 people missing at sea,” said the groups.
“To date, only one of the boats is known to have reached (the Italian island) Lampedusa, while there is no news of the others.”
Both Alarm Phone and Memoria Mediterranea have received “numerous reports” from anxious loved ones of migrants believed to have departed from the Tunisian coast during that period.
Many migrants perish while risking the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from North Africa to Italy. At least 567 lives have been lost so far this year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
