The Marine Corps is actively testing a robotic system outfitted with sensors and cameras that can be armed with an M240 machine gun.
It's called the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, and it looks crazy.
Lance Cpl. Frank Cordoba/US Marine Corps
Just last week, infantry Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines were taking the robot out on training patrols at Camp Pendleton. Later this month, they'll head to the Marines' desert training site at 29 Palms, California to fire off plenty of live rounds.
If it were actually fielded, MAARS would complement the 12-person infantry squad that typically carries small arms, offering up a tracked vehicle that can zone in on targets with a mounted M240B machine gun firing 7.62mm NATO rounds.
It can carry about 400 rounds, or it can be reconfigured to tote a 40mm grenade launcher instead. The Qinetiq-built robot only hits 7 mph for a top speed (which is fast enough for troops who are walking alongside it) and can run for 8 to 12 hours.
Of course, it does have some limitations. It's not totally hands-free, since operators need to hand reload it, and it could be stopped by rougher terrain. But MAARS is just one of many technologies the Corps is testing for its Warfighting Laboratory in an effort to field the "Marine Corps of 2025."
Among other technologies that the Corps is considering are a fully-autonomous ground support vehicle, multiple smaller scale drones, and a precision airborne strike weapon that a grunt can carry in a backpack.
The MAARS also has a big brother nearly five times its weight that can be outfitted with an M134 minigun.