The AI tank tests were conducted on November 5, 2022, in California.

The US military has mounted an experimental AI-driven target recognition system on an M1 Abrams tank, as part of the Advanced Targeting and Lethality Aided System (ATLAS) program. The system is designed to help detect and neutralize threats, by automating human tasks during passive target acquisition using machine learning algorithms. (The Eurasian Times)

The tank crews can view pictures of detected threats and options for choosing weapons and ammo on a touchscreen interface.

The AI will not intervene in the human’s ability to ascertain hostile intent before engaging in a self-defense shooting, as required by the law of warfare.

The C5ISR and Armaments Centers of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) are collaborating on the ATLAS program, which seeks to accelerate target detection and potentially aid tank operators in prioritizing which threats to eliminate in specific scenarios.

It frees up personnel from having to rely solely on a manual target location; instead, the advanced sensor technology and AI algorithms allow for them to fire at three targets in the same amount of time it would typically take to shoot one.

The US military has been developing strategies to increase tank lethality through AI and machine learning technology, and this is only one example of how AI will play a more prominent role in future weapons development.

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Image Source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service