BEIJING — The Chinese have begun trialing a remotely-controlled battle tank as part of plans to upgrade its armed forces.<br /><br />The Global Times reports that China's medium-sized Type 59 tank is equipped with a 100 or 105 millimeter cannon, and typically requires a crew of 4 people to operate.<br /><br />The state is now testing an unmanned version of the tank, with footage from Chinese media showing a soldier remotely driving the vehicle.<br /><br />Type 59 tanks were first used in the 1950s and are due to retire, but can be equipped with with artificial intelligence to turn them to autonomous vehicles.<br /><br />They will be able to work with other unmanned equipment, and integrate information from satellites, aircrafts, or submarines.<br /><br />For now, the unmanned Type 59 tanks still have technical issues, and will likely go through more testing and tweaking before they can be fully combat-capable.
