US Military Tests AI-Powered "Bullfrog" Machine Gun to Combat Drone Threats

US military tests new AI-powered machine gun designed to take down drones

TL;DR: A contractor for the Department of Defense, Allen Control System (ACS), has developed a new AI-powered machine gun called the "Bullfrog" to combat the increasing use of drones in warfare. Tested at the Technology Readiness Experimentation event, the Bullfrog targets and shoots down small drones, offering a cost-effective alternative to microwave or laser systems. A contractor of the Department of Defence has showcased the impressive defensive capabilities of a new machine gun that's designed to combat the rise of drones throughout warfare. The new machine gun was developed by Allen Control System (ACS) and is officially called the "Bullfrog." The new weapon was tested out at the Technology Readiness Experimentation event earlier this year, which is an event that enables contractors to display their technology to the Pentagon for potential acquisition. The new machine gun uses an AI-powered system to target small drones in the air and shoot them down, with the entire system being designed to combat the meteoric rise in uncrewed aircraft throughout warfare. ACS cofounder Steve Simoni spoke to Wired and said the Russian and Ukraine war demonstrated the increase in the use of drones, and after seeing the footage of the war and Ukrainians firing AK-47s at drones, they decided to investigate a potential robotics program capable of automatically targeting drones. ACS claims its Bullfrog is cheaper to use compared to other drone-centered solutions such as microwave or laser weapons systems. "During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw the proliferation of drones on both sides of the conflict, and we read in various news outlets the Ukrainians were firing AK-47s in the air at them," ACS cofounder and CEO Steve Simoni told Wired. "We thought, 'That's a good robotics problem.' It's hard to hit something flying so fast, but a robot can do that with modern-day computer vision and AI control algorithms."

US Military Tests AI-Powered Machine Gun

US Defense Department contractor Allen Control Systems (ACS) has developed an artificial intelligence-powered autonomous robotic gun system called the "Bullfrog," which can target small drones using proprietary computer vision software. As Wired reports, the Defense Department tested out the system during the Technology Readiness Experimentation event earlier this year, which allows contractors like ACS to showcase their prototype technologies to the Pentagon. Recent footage shows the vehicle-mounted gun shooting small drones out of the sky with ease. And that kind of capability is more relevant than ever as small, uncrewed aircraft are becoming increasingly common on the battlefield. "During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw the proliferation of drones on both sides of the conflict, and we read in various news outlets the Ukrainians were firing AK-47s in the air at them," ACS cofounder and CEO Steve Simoni told Wired. "We thought, 'That's a good robotics problem.' It's hard to hit something flying so fast, but a robot can do that with modern-day computer vision and AI control algorithms." According to Simoni, the goal was to remove humans from the equation entirely, particularly considering how fast these uncrewed drones can fly. "We are electrical engineers, and we decided that in order to solve this problem of hitting a fast drone that's accelerating at five Gs at a couple hundred yards, you would need an incredibly high-end current that goes through a motor and encoders that know the position of your gun at all times," he told Wired. "To put that form factor in the hands of someone with an M4 seemed like a very tough problem." ACS' Bullfrog system is part of a much larger trend. The US military is dabbling in a whole range of remotely controlled and semi-autonomous weapons systems to shoot adversary drones out of the sky. Earlier this year, for instance, the US Army started experimenting with rifle-equipped robot dogs at a testing facility in the Middle East. The contractor claims the Bullfrog is incredibly cheap to use, especially compared to far more complicated and expensive laser or microwave weapons systems. So far, humans are still required to give the Bullfrog the green light before it can open fire. That's because there are strict policies when it comes to the use of lethal autonomous weapons. However, ACS is keen to reassure the military that it's technically capable of fully autonomous operation. "Our system is fully autonomous-capable, we're just waiting for the government to determine its needs," ACS's chief strategy officer Brice Cooper told Wired. But when or if those needs will change remains to be seen. Plenty of thorny ethical questions remain surrounding the use of such autonomous weapons. "Anything with robotics requires software to make the determination of friend or foe, and that's a concern with anything that's automated," former congressional defense appropriator Mike Clementi told Wired. "The use of fully automated systems would be "uncharted territory. There's always been a person in the loop before."

The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here

Amid a rising tide of low-cost weaponized adversary drones menacing American troops abroad, the US military is pulling out all the stops to protect its forces from the ever-present threat of death from above. But between expensive munitions, futuristic but complicated directed energy weapons, and its own growing drone arsenal, the Pentagon is increasingly eyeing an elegantly simple solution to its growing drone problem: reinventing the gun. At the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event in August, the US Defense Department tested an artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous robotic gun system developed by fledgling defense contractor Allen Control Systems dubbed the "Bullfrog." Consisting of a 7.62-mm M240 machine gun mounted on a specially designed rotating turret outfitted with an electro-optical sensor, proprietary AI, and computer vision software, the Bullfrog was 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. Indeed, footage of the Bullfrog in action published by ACS shows the truck-mounted system locking onto small drones and knocking them out of the sky with just a few shots. The Bullfrog appears effective enough against drone targets to impress DOD officials: According to Defense Daily, Alex Lovett, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for prototyping and experimentation within the Pentagon's Research and Engineering office, told reporters at a demonstration event in August that the testing of the "low-cost" Bullfrog solution had "gone really well." Should the Pentagon adopt the system, it would represent the first publicly known lethal autonomous weapon in the US military's arsenal, according to the Congressional Research Service. (The Office of the Secretary of Defense did not yet respond to WIRED's request for comment.) Shooting down small, fast-moving drones with conventional firearms is a significant challenge to even the most talented marksman, and the US military has been pursuing various ways to make its small arms more effective against unmanned airborne threats. Those efforts include the procurement of small- to medium-caliber munitions and "buckshot-like" ammo that can replicate the effects of the shotguns that have proven effective counter-drone measures amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine; rifle-mounted radio frequency and GPS jammers to disorient incoming drones so troops don't have to carry separate, bulky counter-drone weapons like the Dronebuster or NightFighter; and "smart" optics from companies like SmartShooter and ZeroMark that purportedly only allow a weapon to fire when it locks on target. The Army has even started integrating counter-drone exercises into its basic training regimen, part of a broader effort to make such schooling as "routine" as conventional marksmanship training. For ACS cofounder and CEO Steve Simoni, a former Navy nuclear engineer, the best way to optimize a firearm for drone threats isn't through novel accessories or enhanced training, but a combination of advanced robotics and a sophisticated AI that can take the guesswork out of target acquisition and tracking.

A machine gun managed by AI? The future is here and it's scary - Softonic

The Pentagon is exploring all available options to keep U.S. troops safe The U.S. military is doing everything possible to protect its troops, and the present of war is marked by low-budget drones that only bring death and destruction. Ukraine, for example, is using this technique in its defense against Russia. At the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event held in August, the United States Department of Defense tested an autonomous robotic gun system equipped with artificial intelligence, named Bullfrog, developed by the emerging defense contractor Allen Control Systems. Composed of a 7.62 mm M240 machine gun mounted on a specially designed rotating turret and equipped with an electro-optical sensor, its own artificial intelligence, and computer vision software, Bullfrog was designed to fire light weapons at unmanned targets with much more precision than an average U.S. soldier can achieve with a standard weapon like the M4 carbine or the next-generation XM7 rifle. In fact, the images of Bullfrog in action published by ACS show how the truck-mounted system targets small drones and shoots them down from the sky with a few shots. Bullfrog seems to be effective enough against unmanned targets to impress Department of Defense officials: according to Defense Daily, Alex Lovett, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prototyping and Experimentation in the Pentagon's Research and Engineering office, told reporters at a demonstration event in August that tests of the "low-cost" Bullfrog solution had "gone really well." In case the Pentagon adopts the system, it would represent the first publicly known lethal autonomous weapon in the U.S. military arsenal, according to the Congressional Research Service. Shooting down small and fast drones with conventional firearms is a significant challenge even for the most skilled shooter, and the U.S. military has been seeking various ways to make its small arms more effective against unmanned aerial threats. These efforts include the acquisition of small and medium caliber ammunition and pellet-like ammunition, capable of reproducing the effects of shotguns that have proven effective against drones during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Army has even started to integrate counter-drone exercises into its basic training regimen, as part of a broader effort to make this type of training as "routine" as conventional marksmanship training.