For the first time, soldiers in England used artificial intelligence (AI) to help them shoot down drones from the sky.
Paratroopers from the 16th Air Assault Brigade in Colchester (a town 50 miles northeast of London) are being trained this week in the use of SmartShooter SMASH technology.
With the tagline “one shot – one shot”, the technology uses image processing software to detect “unmanned aerial systems”, before it can target, track and predict its movement.
This follows an initial order of 225 CRASH The sights were delivered as part of a £4.6 million contract with the Ministry of Defense in 2023. They can be fitted to an SA80 A3 assault rifle and other individual weapons in service. The Ministry of Defense is the department responsible for implementing defense policy set out by Her Majesty’s Government, with headquarters being the British Armed Forces.
Addressing the BBCWarrant Officer (a senior non-commissioned officer) Joe Cooke said: “Our current option for targeting a drone is to simply shoot at it, and these are small, moving targets that are very difficult to hit. »
“We have medics and signalmen on this course who, because of their role, don’t use their rifles as much as the infantry and they shoot with an accuracy they’ve never achieved before.”
Use of AI in the military
In a official release released in October 2023, the British Army further explained its approach to AI, citing the benefits of having a competitive advantage and operational efficiency.
They outlined some important milestones, such as making the military AI-ready by April 2024, with a deeper vision for 2030.
As part of the April 2024 plan, they highlighted how “the military will be AI-ready when relevant parts of the workforce are equipped with basic digital AI literacy, that data quality will be improved, access to technology and relevant processes established will be necessary to ensure security. , safe and responsible AI.
They are not the only ones considering integrating AI technology, however, as the same company – Smartshooter – was awarded a follow-on contract to provide additional SMASH 200L fire control systems to the The American army in October 2023. It is also to defeat drones.
Featured Image: Image by Hung Lang Chen from Pixabay
