Marine Corps Shelves Futuristic Robo-Mule Due to Noise Concerns

After years of being featured at trade shows and trotted out for high-ranking Marine Corps officials, the Marines' barrel-chested Legged Squad Support System -- known affectionately as the robotic mule -- has been put out to pasture.

The machine, which resembles a headless pack mule made of metal, came about through a $32 million, two-and-a-half year contract between the Pentagon's research arm, known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Google Inc.'s Boston Dynamics, of Waltham, Massachusetts.

Marines Designate Infantry Battalion as New Experimental Unit

Marines assigned to the legendary "Dark Horse" battalion may get the chance to try out new gear, technology, and fighting methods before they are introduced service-wide.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said Friday that 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., would spend the next year acting as the Corps' experimental unit, working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to field-test new ideas and equipment over the course of ordinary training and operations.