“This is most realistic training for our military available.”
Ralph Petroff, president of Marathon Targets North American Operations, says soldiers trained to only shoot at stationary targets would “win against the Redcoats,” but without autonomous robot targets (ARTs), soldiers step onto the battlefield lacking any realistic combat training.
The robots designed by Marathon Targets run on a four-wheeled framework with “flat wheels” to conduct live fire training over uneven terrain in field environments. The system uses lidar to navigate and collision avoidance built in. Petroff compares the technology to self-driving cars. The human-shaped targets also react when shot, falling over or wobbling in movement, and are equipped with speakers that simulate speech or sound effects.
Marathon Targets, based in Australia with a production and assembly facility in Madison County, has already provided the ARTs to the US Marine Corps with astounding results according to Petroff, “a 300-400% improvement in one day.” Petroff says the military is undergoing a push for autonomous vehicles but that this is the only ground robot or vehicle of any kind that is actually in the hands of the users.
Ralph Petroff, President, North America, Marathon Targets
Taking part in a Marathon Targets demo exercise off Hobbs Island Road earlier this morning, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong says, “This technology is amazing and a game changer in training our soldiers and law enforcement. And once again technology leads to jobs. Marathon Targets is manufacturing this system right here in North Alabama.”
Marathon Targets provides the ARTs as a service with trailers of the robots and an operator on location. Citing the millions of dollars and years needed to construct a military range with moving targets, Petroff says they can transform any flat range into a realistic combat training experience in minutes. And at the end of the day, “The robots line themselves up and load back onto the trailer.”
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