The British Army is Carrying Out a Massive Test of Military Robots and Drones (technologyreview.com)

Posted by msmash on Tuesday November 13, 2018 @08:45AM from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

The British Army is testing out over 70 new technologies, including unmanned vehicles and surveillance drones, in a four-week experiment on one of its biggest training grounds. From a report: What sort of stuff? The department isn't giving out specifics but said the focus will be on "surveillance, long-range, and precision targeting, enhanced mobility and the re-supply of forces, urban warfare and enhanced situational awareness." The development is part of a $1030 million "innovation fund" launched in 2016. The aim? Primarily it's about reducing the danger to troops during combat, according to the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD). One of the main areas it'll test is "last mile" supply of fuel, food, and ammunition. The exercise will culminate in a simulated battle involving over 200 soldiers to test out the ideas and products.

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Re:$1030 million? by alvinrod · 2018-11-13 09:50 · Score: 5, Informative

The U.S. has pretty much always used billion, but in England 1,000 million historically was called a milliard. A billion was a million millions (or 1,000 milliards) so I think there's still some hesitance to use the term as it is leaves everyone a bit nonplussed.