The Marine Corps is experimenting with the use of robots to improve moving-target training. Using either M-4 carbines or M-27 infantry automatic rifles, Marines from the Quantico, Va.-based Basic School and Weapons Training Battalion recently completed testing that relied upon the robotic devices to better emulate the movements of real adversaries. The regimen involved shooting at 75-meter and 150-meter distances and ambush scenarios. Should the robotics experiment prove valid, it would usher in an improved training protocol. "The current marksmanship tables in the annual rifle qualification are completely unrealistic to train a Marine to shoot a moving target," said Capt. Benjamin Brewster, a project officer with the Warfighting Lab who served two combat tours of Afghanistan.
