How Robot Armies Will Work

08-27-2009 • How Stuff Works

"The Terminator" showed us a future where battalions of sentient, humanoid robots wage war on mankind. While that vision is still well within the realm of science fiction, many countries are looking into creating robot soldiers, including the United States. In fact, in 2001, the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act set a goal for the U.S. Armed Forces -- create an unmanned combat vehicle force that would account for one third of all vehicles in operation. So far, the robot designs don't resemble the Terminator, but they can be just as lethal. The U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) plan is a comprehensive strategy to upgrade the nation's military systems across all branches of the Armed Forces. The plan calls for an integrated battle system -- a fleet of different vehicles that will use up to 80 percent of the same parts, new unattended sensors designed to collect intelligence in the field, and unmanned launch systems that can fire missiles at e