From Single-Mission Platform to Multi-Domain Unmanned Combat System Node, Robot Dogs Continue to Advance Toward Operational Use
From Single-Mission Platform to Multi-Domain Unmanned Combat System Node, Robot Dogs Continue to Advance Toward Operational Use
■ Li Zeping
CODiAQ Armed Quadruped Robot
In May of this year, an Australian company announced that its CODiAQ armed quadruped robot had received a limited security clearance from the U.S. Department of Defense and formally entered the operational testing and evaluation phase. Under the relevant contract, the company will deliver 14 CODiAQ armed quadruped robot systems and 28 modular weapon payloads to the U.S. side. This marks an important step toward operational deployment for this type of armed quadruped robot.
The quadruped robot — commonly known as the "robot dog" — has attracted attention from countries around the world in recent years because it possesses certain unique capabilities compared to traditional wheeled or tracked unmanned ground platforms. First, it has strong terrain adaptability. Its "four-limbed" mode of locomotion enables it to climb stairs, traverse rubble and debris fields, and move through confined spaces to carry out certain tasks. Second, its movement is concealed and agile. Robot dogs are generally low-profile and compact, with a small turning radius; most models are electrically driven, produce low movement noise, and are difficult for enemy infrared and acoustic detection means to detect. Third, through algorithmic control, robot dogs can maintain stable posture even on uneven ground, which lays the foundation for their subsequent weaponization.
Based on these characteristics, many countries have chosen to develop them as intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance, emergency resupply, or direct-strike platforms. For example, at the end of 2024, Germany procured four Vision 60 robot dogs from the U.S. company Ghost Robotics for use in reconnaissance and mine detection. During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the more than 30 BAD.2 second-generation robot dog systems provided by the United Kingdom to Ukraine were used primarily for reconnaissance, detection, and logistics resupply missions, capable of carrying more than 7 kilograms of supplies in a single run. Also in 2024, the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command had UGV robot dogs equipped with rifles and organized related live-fire tests.
Today, as the relevant technologies mature and are applied, the capabilities of the new generation of robot dogs have expanded further. Taking the CODiAQ armed quadruped robot as an example, it employs a modular design and can integrate two weapon systems — a 40mm grenade launcher and a shotgun — and can also be optionally fitted with non-lethal weapons depending on mission requirements.
The integration of artificial intelligence and autonomous collaborative technologies has made the new generation of robot dogs smarter and more capable of "fighting in packs." For instance, the CODiAQ armed quadruped robot is equipped with an assisted-aiming software system that can autonomously identify targets and complete ballistic calculations both day and night. Some countries are developing robot dog swarm systems, working toward achieving interconnectivity, information sharing, and dynamic autonomous collaboration among "humans, vehicles, and dogs."
Despite the intensive pace of research and development across countries, military robot dogs still have certain technological weaknesses at present.
Insufficient endurance is currently their greatest limiting factor. Robot dogs under development in various countries typically have an endurance of only a few hours — the Vision 60, for example, has an endurance of approximately three hours under typical mission profiles — making sustained operations difficult during prolonged, high-intensity combat. Constrained by their relatively small size, their critical components and sensors lack adequate armor protection; fragmentation from explosions or even rifle fragments could disable them. Some robot dogs rely on communication links for command and control; once they enter canyons, caves, or urban underground spaces, they may lose effectiveness due to signal dropout.
Under these circumstances, many countries, when developing and employing robot dogs, have chosen to pair them with other unmanned platforms — that is, to network robot dogs with unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned combat vehicles, and other platforms to form an unmanned combat system with complementary advantages, thereby leveraging the robot dog's role as a ground node.
At present, research and development in this area is still ongoing. How long it will take for robot dogs to transition from single-mission platforms to multi-domain unmanned combat system nodes remains difficult to determine.