http://usmilitary.about.com/od/weapons/a/blacknight.htm
Black Knight - Future Combat Unmanned Ground Vehicle Is Similar To A Tank
The Black Knight is a remote controlled armored vehicle being developed by British defence company BAE Systems PLC. The unmanned ground combat vehicle is currently in the prototype phase. However, people in the global defense industry have high hopes for the Black Knight and see it as the future of ground warfare. Unmanned ground vehicles are operated remotely from a distance, and soldiers do not travel in them keeping military personnel out of harms way.
While unmanned vehicles are mostly associated with aircraft and aerial drones, a growing number of unmanned ground vehicles are also being developed for use by militaries around the world. The Black Knight is one of the most sophisticated of the unmanned ground combat vehicles, and its development is at an advanced phase. In 2010, the U.S. Army was putting the vehicle through a series of evaluations...
That’s a nice concept...but lots of concepts come and go. I wouldn’t classify that as a tank either, as its main gun could never kill another tank.
I’m an old tanker....its hard enough using a 2d night vision driver site (ie there are accidents). I couldn’t imagine negotiating terrain full time through a screen...or identifying targets (which often occurs with peripheral vision). And what happens when you throw track? Too many complications. But beyond that, remote control tanks contradict our fighting doctrine. The only reason we have tanks is to protect pc’s...and the only reason we have pc’s is to bring infantry to an area. If the area doesnt need infantry, it doesnt need tanks....and the remote control operations should be left to drones in the air.
A