The Steam Deck has many unexpected uses, including as a remote control for machine gun turrets. The Ukrainian army used Valve’s handheld during the war.
Ukrainian news company TPO posted numerous photos on Facebook showing soldiers in the country testing automatic turrets for machine guns in the field. The system, dubbed “Sablya,” is an automated remote control device that operates autonomously, remotely monitoring, targeting and firing.
Interestingly, one of the photos shows a soldier holding a Steam Deck, a Linux-based device used to remotely control machine guns. His screen is blank, so we can’t see what the interface looks like, but since there’s a camera on the gun, it’s possible to watch the camera feed on the Steam Deck. It can be used to monitor the battlefield, aim and fire.
Foreign media speculated that since the turrets are automated, Steam Deck may be able to mark targets so that the work can be done faster and more efficiently.
“Sabya” is not the latest weapon system, it was first introduced 8 years ago, but in the battlefield of 2023, why is it used to operate with SteamDeck? Perhaps its performance and stability are better than other handhelds?
“Sablya” is a weapon that can be operated at long distances (up to 500 meters), keeping the operator away from the hot zone of the battlefield. The turret is available for both stationary operations and vehicle mounting. Additionally, Sablya is also reportedly capable of shooting low-flying enemy drones.
In fact, it is not the first time that game handles have appeared on the battlefield. In the 2010s, many US military tanks had a record of changing the operating system of the turret to a computer or even using a handle. In 2018, the U.S. Navy used an Xbox 360 controller to control certain equipment on the Virginia-class submarine USS Colorado. Controllers are also used to control drones and unmanned vehicles.
It’s unlikely Valve will be happy to learn that its Steam Deck has been semi-weaponized. But unlike SpaceX, which blocked Ukraine from using its Starlink service to control drones, Gabe Newell’s company has done little to stop the practice.