The U.S. Has Developed An Unmanned Ford To Combat Drones

The vehicle can operate in minefields without a crew.

The U.S. Army has tested a prototype Ford F-250 capable of navigating dangerous terrain on its own and defending itself against small drones, according to Motor1 (translation by Charter97.org).

The pickup truck is equipped with Forterra’s AutoDrive autonomous driving system and a 9 Mothers Edda anti-drone turret. The vehicle can remotely clear routes of mines and obstacles while military personnel monitor it from a safe distance.

The key design feature is its ability to simultaneously perform engineering tasks and defend against aerial threats. Mounted in the truck bed, Edda uses acoustic sensors to detect small drones, after which a visual tracking system guides the automatic shotgun to the target.

“A truck slowly making its way through a minefield is an easy target, and cheap drones give the enemy an easy way to attack or disable it,” the project’s authors explain.

As part of Sandhills 2.0, the U.S. Army is testing whether this combination can be turned into a fully-fledged system for real-world use.

The experiment demonstrates a new approach to military technology: route clearance, autonomous control, and drone defense are combined into a single, relatively inexpensive platform.

“Drone defense, survivability, and mine clearance are beginning to be integrated into a single vehicle,” the authors note.

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