The US Army has taken a significant step towards modernizing its legacy equipment with the successful test of an autonomous mine-laying system. The Autonomous Volcano system, which combines the M139 Volcano dispenser with a driverless Palletized Load System truck, can blanket roughly 32 acres with up to 960 mines without human assistance.
The test, conducted at Camp Grayling, Michigan, demonstrated the system's ability to remotely fire inert mine canisters and autonomously emplace two minefields. This technology aims to keep combat engineers out of danger and provide a high-yield autonomous asset.
The project, developed jointly by the US and the UK, is part of the Army's efforts to leverage emerging technology to modernize its systems and tactics. The Army plans to test the system in realistic battlefield scenarios later this month.
