2009/02/18

Update: UGV history

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I mentioned the use of remote-controlled tanks in 1940 in my blog entry Unmanned ground vehicles - history and smoke.

Meanwhile, I found some earlier examples - from Japan.
Use in combat: Unknown to me.
They're likely still not the first examples, though.

1937: Type 98 Mini Engineer Vehicle "Ya-I Go"

1930: Major Nagayama's R/C tank.

Additional photos of Nagayama's R/C tank thanks to Taki:



79 years.
A remote-controlled tank ("UGV", unmanned ground vehicle"), probably even armed, in action - 79 years ago.

It's amazing how nuts many bloggers and journalists went about the UGV stories in the past few years - that's the power of U.S. military public relations.
Apparently, nothing happens before they send a press release that they did it.


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