Indian Army replaces mules with robotic dogs

Lifeless reminders of British rule can be seen across India, from wrought iron benches at railway stations to crumbling statues in parks. In the mountains, however, a relic is more alive.

Mules, 4,000 of which were kept in the Indian Army after the British left, remain an important logistical tool for supplying remote areas – unable even by helicopter – with ammunition, food and medicine.

Now, in what could be seen as a quantum leap in military technology, the animals are to be phased out and replaced with alternative four-legged – AI-powered robot dogs.

No robot or drone could replace the love soldiers have for their mules, an officer said

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Like mules, the robot dogs can climb stairs and steep hills and operate in extreme temperatures. However, they will be deployed together with drones, which, unlike mules, can fly.

Although the weight they can carry is 15 kg, as opposed to a mule’s 80 kg, the robots do not need to be sent to a special training school for “battle inoculation” to ensure that they do not run away when they hear heavy gunfire in areas, where the army is engaged with militants or conducting live-fire exercises.

Nor shall they carry their own food, as the mules did. “They had to have what we called a ‘viable load,’ so if they were going to be out for two nights, about 30 percent of the load had to be feed for them,” said one Army officer who didn’t want to be. named.

Still, the officer admitted that while it was inevitable that the Army needed to modernize, no robot or drone could replace the love soldiers had for their mules.

Mules were part of a ceremonial parade during the anniversary celebrations of the Army Service Corps in Bangalore

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“I have memories of walking behind mules for days, of spending the night together in some places, so they are close to our hearts. They kept us well fed and well provided for,” he said.

In the 1970s and 80s, mules were the only form of transport in remote mountain areas. For decades, a mule known only by the number 15328 was greeted with joy by Indian soldiers stationed at high altitudes when she arrived with food parcels.

Over the years, some mules have been awarded honors. Those who are being retired may receive a token of appreciation before they go down in history, but few can expect the same accolades that were belatedly awarded to number 15328.

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During the 1971 war with Pakistan, she was captured while serving on the Western Front, but managed to return to Indian lines. In 1987, an officer was moved to learn that she had served for 25 years at altitudes of up to 17,000 feet, but in all those years no one had given her a name.

The officer named her Pedongi, after the name of a battle site in the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, and awarded her a ceremonial velvet carpet.

Pedongi continued to serve in the army until 1997, when she was allowed to retire. She died a year later. In 2017, a lounge for officers in Delhi Cantonment was named after her.

At the National Army Museum in Chelsea, west London, photographs and paintings of a mule called Jimson form part of the collection after he was the beloved mascot of the 2nd Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army.

Known for carrying ammunition across difficult terrain, Jimson was awarded medals for service in India and the Boer War.