August 19, 2009: India is developing an unmanned tank. The first test vehicle, a BMP 2 equipped with sensors and remote control equipment, successfully completed tests recently. A remote operator was able to drive the BMP 2 around typical battlefield obstacles. The vehicle has been turned over to the army for further testing and feedback to the developers.
The U.S. has also experimented with remotely controlled vehicles, including one system that would equip regular armored vehicles with the sensors and remote control equipment. Thus a manned vehicle could be used remotely in particularly dangerous situations. But the U.S. Army has now shifted to developing smaller scouting vehicles that can operate completely on their own, just transmitting video back to the users nearby.
