Sentry gun

{{Short description|Weapon that automatically aims and fires at targets}}

Image:Phalanx CIWS.jpg automated turret, mounted on {{USS|Denver|LPD-9|6}}]]

A sentry gun is a weapon that automatically aims and fires at targets that are detected by sensors. The earliest functioning military sentry guns were the close-in weapon systems point-defense weapons, such as the Phalanx CIWS, used for detecting and destroying short range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, first used exclusively on naval assets, and now also as land-based defenses.http://www.digital-battlespace.com/2009/05/bundeswehr-chooses-rheinmetall-nbs-c-ram-anti-mortar-rocket-artillery-system/{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Military use

=Samsung SGR-A1=

The Samsung SGR-A1 is a South Korean military robot sentry designed to replace human counterparts in the demilitarized zone at the South and North Korean border. It is a stationary system made by Samsung defense subsidiary Samsung Techwin.

=Sentry Tech=

In 2007, the Israeli military deployed the Sentry Tech system, dubbed as the Roah-Yora (Sees-Fires) by the IDF along the Gaza border fence with pillboxes placed at intervals of some hundreds of meters. The 4-million USD (3.35 million Euro) system was completed in late spring of 2008.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/12/israeli-auto-ki/|title=Israeli "Auto Kill Zone" Towers Locked and Loaded|access-date=July 30, 2018|magazine=WIRED|last1=Shachtman |first1=Noah }} The weapon system mounts a .50BMG automated M2 Browning machine gun and a SPIKE guided missile in each pillbox{{cite journal|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JlLawInfoSci/2012/3.html|title=Lethal Robotic Technologies: The Implications for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law|first=Philip|last=Alston|journal=Journal of Law, Information and Science |year=2012}} covered by an opaque protective shield. The weapon is operated by one soldier and fed information from cameras, long range electro-optical sensors, ground sensors, crewed aircraft, and overhead drones, as well as radar. Connected via fiber optics to a remote operator station and a command-and-control center, each machine gun-mounted station serves as a type of robotic sniper, capable of enforcing a nearly 1,500-meter-deep area of denial. The gun is based on the Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station.[https://www.wired.com/2007/06/for_years_and_y/ Robo-Snipers, "Auto Kill Zones” to Protect Israeli Borders] Noah Shachtman, Wired.com, June 4, 2007 The weapon is capable of acquiring targets and maintaining a firing solution independently, but still requires human input to fire or release ordnance.

Dozens of people have been shot with the Sentry Tech system. The first reported killing of an individual appears to have taken place during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008. According to Israeli sources, the process to authorize a kill is "complex" but can still be carried out in under two minutes. The same sources report that the weapons are mainly used for "warning shots" if they are fired at all, since the mere opening of the protective dome is often enough to intimidate any potential contacts into retreat.

=Super aEgis II=

In December 2010, the South Korean firm DoDAAM unveiled the Super aEgis II,{{cite web|url=http://www.gizmag.com/korea-dodamm-super-aegis-autonomos-robot-gun-turret/17198/ |title=South Korea's autonomous robot gun turrets: deadly from kilometers away |date=7 December 2010 |publisher=Gizmag.com |access-date=2012-11-26}} an automated turret-based weapon platform that uses thermal imaging to lock onto vehicles[http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150715-killer-robots-the-soldiers-that-never-sleep Killer Robots: The Soldiers That Never Sleep] or humans up to 3 km away. It is able to function during nighttime and is unaffected by weather conditions.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/news/video/story?videoId=187406842&videoChannel=2602 |title=South Korean super gun packs hi-tech killing power | Video |publisher=Reuters.com |access-date=2012-11-26}} The system gives a verbal warning before firing, and though it is capable of firing automatically, the company reports that all of its customers have configured it to require human confirmation. It is used at various facilities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi, among other places, and has been tested in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

=Bullfrog=

In response to increasing attacks using drones on US military personnel abroad, the United States Department of Defense tested an artificial intelligence-enabled sentry gun system developed by Allen Control Systems known as the "Bullfrog". The system consists of an M240 machine gun mounted on a rotating turret with an electro-optical sensor, proprietary AI and computer vision software. {{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/story/us-military-robot-drone-guns/|title=The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here|date=11 November 2024|publisher=Wired.com |access-date=2024-11-13}}

=Sky Sentinel=

In May 2025, Ukraine unveiled an AI operated turret, called Sky Sentinel, fitted to a M2 Browning machine gun that shot down its first Shahed drone without human input using radar.{{Cite web |title= Ukraine unveils AI-powered air defense turret, already shoots down Shahed UAVs (photo)|url= https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-unveils-ai-powered-air-defense-turret-1748348736.html |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=RBC Ukraine |author= VIKTOR NAZARENKO|language=en}} The system costs around $150,000 per turret and some 10 to 30 turrets are required to protect a small town from drones. In 2025, a crowdfunding effort was underway to purchase more turrets.{{Cite web |title= Ukraine Turns To AI-Controlled Guns To Stop Russian Shahed Drones |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2025/05/27/ukraine-turns-to-ai-controlled-guns-to-stop-russian-shahed-drones/ |access-date=2025-05-28|website=Forbes |author= David Hambling |language=en}}

References

Category:Machine guns