Russia Wants World of Tanks Players to Remote-Control its Tanks

Following the reveal of a series of remote-controlled tanks developed by a Russian defence contractor, the country’s deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin claims that future mobile infantry drivers will not emerge from the military as is traditional, but instead from gamers versed in popular MMO World of Tanks.

“We need no tankers now, we need World of Tanks players,” read a tweet by Rogozin.

Rogozin has previously predicted a world in which “bespectacled nerds” would crush the “handsome athletes who fight on a lower technological level” in a new brand of techno-warfare.

The remote-controlled T-90 tank, developed by the Uralvagonzavod company, is able to be remotely piloted from up to 5 kilometres away. Earlier this year, fellow Russian armoured vehicle manufacturer Tractor Plants built the Kurganets-25 tank which based its control interface on PlayStation controller.

Albert Bakov, Vice President Tractor Plants, said at the time, “I spent two years on convincing the designers to make the console similar to a Sony Playstation gamepad, to make it easier for a young soldier to familiarise himself with it.”

It seems Russia has found a unique angle by which to recruit the next generation of military vehicle drivers. If the UK armed forces are seeking tacticians, I’m great at Risk.

Thank you RT for providing us with this information.