File photo - Smoke raises behind an Islamic State flag after Iraqi security forces and Shiite fighters took control of Saadiya in Diyala province from Islamist State militants, Nov. 24, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
ISIS combatants might soon find themselves at war with a robot.
According to Defense One, which translated an article in the Baghdad Post, Iraq military forces are preparing a robotic armed vehicle to battle the Islamic State. The vehicle, loosely named Alrobot (robot in Arabic), is about the size of a small car and fully controlled by a human as it rushes towards the enemy.
Of course, the use of unmanned vehicles to take down enemies is nothing new in warfare. Over the last several years, war-torn areas around the world have been hit with drone strikes, many of which have come from the US and other Western nations.
In this case, according to Defense One, the Alrobot was developed by two unnamed brothers. It's controlled (from up to 0.6 miles away) by a laptop that communicates with its onboard computer and tells it where to go and when to fire. Four cameras give operators a view of the robot's surroundings and control of its automatic machine gun and Katyusha rockets.
More From PCmag
Although it's unclear exactly how many Alrobots are currently in existence, Defense One says that at least one seems ready to fight in Mosul, where ISIS has taken over the city.
Interestingly, this wouldn't be the first robot to find its way to Iraq. In 2007, the US Army used three armed robots, called Special Weapons Obstervation Reconaissance Detection System (SWORDS). Their goal was to conduct reconaissance of the battlefield and if necessary, fire a shot on enemies. However, it's believed that they never actually fired a shot because the robot's weapon started moving when it wasn't supposed to, making it a safety threat.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.