Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System
The Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS) is a robot that is being developed by Qinetiq. A member of the TALON family, it will be the successor to the armed SWORDS robot. It has a different, larger chassis than the SWORDS robot, so has little physically in common with thugh remote weapon systems have been successfully used on vehicles, there is question on how far a remote-controlled platform can be stretched, from a guard tower for perimeter defense or through a mobile platform. SWORDS robots deployed to Iraq were placed in fixed locations anng them to seek out and shoot enemy combatants. QinetiQ North America has said that despite press reports claiming that SWORDS was only there briefly, they were deployed for six years and performed the combat role of serving the protection of a site. The Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning asked for a demonstration of MAARS in fall 2013, and the Marine Corps is continuing to investigate the possibility of employing it as well.[1][2] Army officers hope to use armed ground robots as part of an infantry squad, rather than a substitute for them. They plan to
- ^ Army and Marines: Leave the Shooting to Humans - Defensetech.org, 14 August 2013
- ^ Future of Armed Ground Robots in Combat Still Debated - Nationaldefensemagazine.org, 15 August 2013