How much is that genetically engineered doggy in the window? The one in the US Army?
Billionaires want to make biohacked ‘war dogs’ capable of sniffing out bombs, detecting booby-traps and saving people trapped in mudslides.
Warhound, an ‘advanced canine genetics and cybernetic platform’, says the designer K9 units will be ‘healthier’ than the average working dog.
In a launch announcement last week, Warhound said the genetically enhanced pups could also join the police and emergency services.
Behind the idea are tech bosses Ben Lamm, founder of Colossal Biosciences – a company trying to ‘de-extinct’ the dodo – and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of the AI military start-up Anduril.
Lamm tells he met Luckey last year at the Peter Diamandis’ Moonshots Summit, a tech conference in Los Angeles, California.
At the time, Colosal Sciences was attempting to revive the Dire Wolf, the breed made famous by Game of Thrones, which went extinct 13,000 years ago.
They agreed that more could be done for the roughly 1,600 dogs, otherwise called ‘four-legged fighters’, serving in the US armed forces.
Current military working dogs are typically German shepherds, black Labrador retrievers, or Belgian sheepdogs.
Around eight in 10 of the pups earmarked for the job come from Europe, and Warhound claims less than half are fit for service.
This is often because the dogs suffer from inherited conditions, such as poor eyesight, cancer or hip dysplasia, when the hip joints are misaligned.
‘We saw an opportunity to combine cloning of proven working dogs, responsible genetic engineering, more consistent training and advanced protective technology to produce healthier dogs,’ Lamm says.
A ‘new type of dog’ will be made
Lamm’s team plans to grow cellular samples of working dogs – called cell lines – in its lab and store them in a biobank.
They’ll then ‘biohack’ the canine genes to create a ‘new type of dog’.
‘The edited cells will then be used in the cloning process to produce dogs with a consistent genetic foundation that are proven to be able to make it through training with additional longevity and health enhancements,’ Lamm says.
Anduril will then kit out the Warhound dogs ‘with our cybernetic augments, software and battlefield situational awareness tools’, such as high-tech helmets or bulletproof vests.
The first puppy litter is expected next year, and the company hopes the dogs will be enlisted by the end of the decade – though the timeline isn’t certain.
Warhound hasn’t put a price tag on its bio-dogs, but a trained working dog can cost up to £30,000.
It expects to sell to the US Department of Defense, military service groups, police forces and first responders.
‘We have already been called by a government in desperate need of more dogs that they can use to help find families trapped in both earthquakes and mudslides,’ Lamm says.
There are no current plans to bring the dogs to the UK.
It is thought dogs have been used in human conflicts as long ago as 600 BC, while the US created the first canine army unit in 1942 during World War Two.
Animal welfare experts have criticised the practice as these furry troops can’t enlist voluntarily and have no legal status. Many say the dogs are treated like equipment rather than living things.
About 350 dogs were killed in action during the Vietnam War, with hundreds more abandoned or euthanised after the conflict. At least 29 died during missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Like their human counterparts, canine veterans can also be psychologically scarred by war.
The American Humane Society, an animal welfare group, is overseeing Warhound’s training programmes.
When these bio-combat canines retire, they will enter the society’s reunification scheme, which provides homes for retired military dogs.
‘Breakthroughs in science and genetics have the potential to improve the welfare and safety of animals serving in the US military and law enforcement agencies,’ it tells .
‘We look forward to working with them to help ensure the animals in their care are treated humanely.’
Until then, Lamm says it’ll give him time to think of a name for the first ‘war dog’.
‘Isn’t Chase the main police dog in Paw Patrol?’ he says.
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