One of my favorite jokes goes something like, “What do you get when you cross a moose with a hippo? An immediate cessation of your funding and a stern rebuke from the ethics committee.” Yes, that sounds like one of those “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” kind of moments, which is funny…until it happens.
Enter the United States Marine Corps, because of course it would be the Marines.
It seems someone decided to see what happens when you attach artificial intelligence to an M240.
Did no one learn anything from the Terminator franchise, for crying out loud?
The Marine Corps has selected Allen Control Systems’ Bullfrog autonomous weapon station for integration into its Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS) under the Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) program, according to a company announcement this week.
The move pairs the AI-powered robotic mount with the M240 machine gun already familiar to Marines, giving the service’s most expeditionary counter-drone platform a kinetic option that can detect, track and engage Group 1 through Group 3 unmanned aircraft systems at a fraction of the cost of missile interceptors.
“The Marine Corps requires the most sophisticated and accurate possible capabilities to carry out its critical missions,” said Mike Wior, co-founder and CEO of Allen Control Systems, in a press release provided to Military.com.
How Bullfrog Works
Bullfrog is not a new gun. It is a robotic weapon station that uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and precision robotics to transform legacy or modern firearms into systems capable of autonomous detection, tracking and engagement of aerial threats. The version selected for the Marine Corps is built around the M240 7.62mm machine gun.
According to specs provided to Military.com, the system relies on passive sensing rather than radar, which helps keep the host platform’s signature low. Pointing accuracy is listed at less than one minute of angle.
All jokes aside, this is something that probably makes a lot of sense in a world where drones are likely to become a bigger and bigger threat. The M240 doesn’t throw the amount of lead around that CIWS does on a Navy ship, or the GAU-8 does on an A-10, but that’s probably not needed. For the CIWS, it’s intended to shoot down missiles moving at higher rates of speed than a drone travels. An M240 is probably about perfect for that, and the ammo is a lot more cost-effective.
I’m never going to be comfortable with AI being armed, in part because of some of the scarier stories we’ve heard about AI in some military contexts, but basically creating an autonomous system that will keep a perimeter secure from drones—and, presumably, enemies trying to sneak up on your position—is probably one of the smarter uses for it, so long as there are sufficient controls put in place.
Of course, the Marines have to be concerned about armed drones, unlike Massachusetts lawmakers who are trying to ban them despite them not really being a thing. Then again, I’m sure that will change, but then I guess they figure Iranian-backed terrorists will follow their anti-drone laws.
Meanwhile, I can honestly say I want one of those on the top of my house.
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