The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here

The US Defense Department tested a robotic gun system developed by defense contractor Allen Control Systems .

The Bullfrog is designed to deliver small arms fire on drone targets with far more precision than the average US service member can achieve with a standard-issue weapon like the M4 carbine or next-generation XM7 rifle.

Should the Pentagon adopt the system, it would represent the first publicly known lethal autonomous weapon in the US military’s arsenal.

At less than 400 pounds , the Bullfrog is smaller and simpler than the hulking 15-foot-tall , 12,000-plus -pound Phalanx CIWS.

The system is designed to keep a human “in the loop” in order to avoid a potential “unauthorized engagement" The Bullfrog’s debut at T-REX couldn’t have come at a more fortuitous time.

At the moment, all options are on the table in the Pentagon 's counter-drone push.

They include remotely operated weapons turrets like the XM914 30-mm chain gun loaded up with explosive proximity rounds.

Other options include missile systems like Raytheon’s Coyote interceptor and “autonomous air vehicles” like the Air Force's Paladin flying gun and the Roadrunner from defense upstart Anduril.