If you are afraid of “killer robots”, this news will not delight you. The Netherlands officially becomes the first NATO member country to deploy them.
And it is not a simple test phase, in progress since September 12, according to the Batavian army.
Different configurations for these remote-controlled robots
Killer robots are divisive, and amid growing tensions in Europe, the Netherlands has decided to step up a gear when it comes to deploying its weaponry. The latest example is therefore the THeMIS. Some might see an analogy with the Greek goddess of justice… but as it stands, this name would above all be the acronym of the Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System. Developed by the Estonian firm Milrem Robotics, the THeMIS has already been tested by another member of NATO in a theater of operations… in the person of France. It was during Operation Barkhane.
As you can see in the video above, the THeMIS is here equipped with a 40 mm caliber grenade launcher, 30 mm cannons and an anti-tank missile launcher. Milrem Robotics highlights the discretion of the device in terms of sound volume, as well as its reduced size. It measures only 2.40 m long by 2.15 m wide and 1.15 m high. It weighs 1.6 tonnes and can carry up to 1.2 tonnes of payload, while its hybrid engine gives it up to 10.5 hours of autonomy and 1.5 hours using the electric motor alone. It can reach 20 km/h.
However, the THeMIS has several configurations. This terrestrial drone can also be used for the recognition of a place, the towing of a machine, or the transport of material or an individual on a stretcher, for example. As part of the ongoing testing in the Netherlands, it is well and truly configured for direct combat. The minidrones that it stores within it also allow easy reconnaissance of the terrain.
The Estonian touch is found in this product
According to Milrem Robotics, 16 countries, including 8 NATO members, are already in possession of this terrestrial drone. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine engages the Netherlands, in the words of the Royal Netherlands Army Commander for Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Lieutenant-Colonel Sjoerd Mevissen: “ We deployed four armed models as part of an operational experiment. […] These are not simply tests on a training ground. We are under the direct eyes and ears of the Russians, and therefore in a semi-operational environment. »
Estonia, which has a heavy history in the field of cyberconflicts with Russia since 2007 and which is home to NATO’s center of excellence for cooperative cyberdefence in Tallinn, thus offers state-of-the-art equipment. The system encryption is operated with AES 256-bit encryption, the highest currently available, is an illustration of this.
Sources: Technical sheet THeMIS, Vice
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