Israel Deploying “See-Shoot” RWS Along Gaza

Golan w. Samson Jr. RWS(click to view full) Remotely-operated Weapons Systems (RWS) like Recon/Optical’s CROWS, Kongsberg’s Protector, Thales’ SWARM, BAE’s LEMUR, and larger versions like RAFAEL’s RCWS-30 and Elbit’s ORCWS have become popular attachments for combat vehicles. They allow an operator inside the vehicle to look at a screen displaying visual feeds from the RWS sensors, then move and fire the weapon from inside the vehicle. Which leads to the logical next question: why does the operator have to be that close? South Korea, and now Israel as well, have thought about this and decided that in some cases, the answer is “no reason at all”… Samsung SGR-A1(click to view full) In its archly-titled March 14/07 article “South Korea to field gun-cam robots on DMZ: Stationary droids forced to sacrifice own lives for human overlords,” The Register reported that South Korea is deploying Samsung’s SGR-A1 “Intelligent Surveillance & Security Guard Robot” at key installations and along its border. An immobile robot, but one deemed sufficient for defending bases and areas along the Demilitarized Zone with North Korea. South Korea remains technically at war with the North, and the DMZ is one of the most tense and dangerous standoff areas in […]