JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Tel Aviv is still pursuing its ambitious goal of deploying robots, and will now choose between three models of semi-automatic armored vehicles to protect its soldiers in the field, Israeli military officials said.
Israel has long been looking to deploy an army of robots as a way to reduce reliance on soldiers on its flaming fronts with the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria, just as its growing air force relies on aircraft.
"We will be thinking 30 years from now, and we will have a lot of automatic self-movement capabilities," said Defense Department Chief of Staff Janiv Rotem.
In this context, the release of newly developed models of ground combat vehicles that Israel intends to continue to rely on soldiers, but completely isolated from outside in the cabins with smart displays, cameras and sensors, rather than windows and openings.
"Now people will sit inside the tank, they are closed, they are much better protected, and they can progress without worrying about snipers or anything else," Rotem said.
The models designed by Israel's top three defense companies as part of its bid to win an army tender include industrial intelligence systems that are described as equipped with capabilities to monitor enemy fighters and automatically fire the vehicle at them.
When asked why Israel did not rule out full human participation and operate vehicles remotely? "Ultimately, the individual inside the tank is the one who makes the decision," Rotem told reporters. "You need someone to think better than the machine."
Raphael Advanced Defense Industries, a state-owned company, creates a simulator with touch screens, motion picture-like images and its characters in Afghanistan, in reference to the US military.