AUSA: Qinetiq’s aptly named Titan is a big robot, but don’t be afraid of it — yet. The company built it to compete for the Army’s Squad Maneuver Equipment Transport (S-MET) contract, so its main function is to haul backpacks, ammunition, water, and other heavy, bulky supplies for human infantry. That said, Qinetiq’s also looking at an armed variant, with weapons mounted on the Titan but remotely controlled by a human operator, inspired by Qinetiq’s earlier and much smaller MAARS (also on the video). If they ever install the artificial intelligence for the robot to pull the trigger on its own, then you can worry.
Marines eye 2025 fielding of 3 new, mobile air defense systems
“We are on track from a programmatic standpoint — cost, schedule performance — but we’re always gonna be late to need,” said Col. Andrew Konicki, the program manager for Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD). “The threat is ever changing and ever evolving.”