The US Army is testing Bradley infantry fighting vehicles paired with compact FireAnt ground robots during the Pegasus Charge 3 exercises. The concept, however, is far from new. The Telegram channel Military Chronicle pointed to strong similarities with a US development dating back to the late 1980s.

Footage recently posted online shows a Bradley carrying five small FireAnt robotic platforms along its side. The vehicle effectively serves as a carrier for the unmanned ground systems and has been described as a «mothership.»

Each FireAnt weighs about 27 kilograms. Depending on the mission, the robot can carry an explosive payload, electronic warfare equipment or reconnaissance gear.

A comparable project appeared in the United States nearly four decades ago. In 1988, Sandia National Laboratories unveiled a wheeled, radio-controlled vehicle under the same FireAnt name. It carried an anti-tank munition and had an operating range of roughly 500 meters.

The operator guided the machine into a designated area before it switched to autonomous operation. Once it detected a large moving target, the munition mounted on the platform was triggered.