Ukraine’s “Ironclad” Combat Drone is Sci-Fi Come to Life
When I was in high school, I read a chilling and memorable sci-fi novel called Cold Allies by author Patricia Anthony.
Released in 1993, the book depicts a futuristic world war between nations while the combatants come to terms with alien visitors who decide that global war is the best time to stop by and say hi.
Although the author’s pacing was inconsistent, the writing rough around the edges, and the aliens poorly defined, I still remember this book distinctly for one reason: The American way of warfighting was completely remote-controlled.
Keep in mind, this was the roaring 90s — we didn’t have Reaper drones or Global Hawks yet, so the fact that one of Anthony’s main characters controlled a ground-based combat drone with virtual reality goggles was completely fresh.
(This book actually made me want to buy the Nintendo Virtual Boy — until I tried a demo in Toys R Us in 1995)
Now, Ukraine has officially fielded its own wheeled combat drone equipped with an M2 machine gun (.50 caliber, informally, “Ma Deuce”) that Ukraine calls the “Ironclad.”
Video footage released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense shows the Ironclad in action against Russian forces.
