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Thread/ In several instances the Islamic State developed and used remote control guns in Iraq and Syria. This short thread will take a look at those weapons. 
2/ The first pictured instance of IS using a remote control gun was near kirkuk in 2015. A dragenov was attacked to a metal frame which provided horizontal and vertical movement via a connected controller.
3/ A second virtually identical weapon was found almost a year later in 2016 near Hawija. According to the peshmerga fighters who captured it the IS fighter operating it was in a nearby bunker and the weapon caused several casualties.
4/ Remote control guns next show up during the Battle of Mosul. A double SPG-9 is shown in a propoganda video that is operated via a PS2 controller using an MP5 player for a screen all connected to the gun via a wire.
5/ I thought this design was intended to allow two shots before reloading, making the weapon more useful. But in the video each SPG-9 is loaded separately between firing, making the design seem entirely pointless over a single SPG-9.
6/ In Mosul there was also a remote control gun that is being used in an (attempted) anti- air capacity. This weapon, like all the others so far, had vertical and horizontal movement.
7/ The controller for it looks like a remote control aircraft controller, but I believe is actually a remote control aircraft simulator controller. As in used to practice flying remote control planes on a computer. Again presumably connected by a wire to the gun.
8/ These weapons were next seen in Raqqa, where a remote control SPG-9 is also used. Though IS here apparently decided to do away with the double design.
9/ Two similar remote control machine guns were also shown in videos from Raqqa. Both weapons appear to have horizontal and vertical movement. Unlike the machine gun from Mosul these were not intended for anti-air use but instead to target SDF fighters.
10/ All three weapons from Raqqa were far more uniform than the ones in Mosul, using a CCTV camera for the camera, a car battery for power, and a large white box to contain most electronics.
11/ All remote control weapons n Raqqa also had a similar purpose built controller. A white box with 5 buttons; 4 providing up/down left/right movement and a 5th that fired the weapon.
12/ A final image of a remote control weapon showed up in Hajin which was far more rudimentary in design. The frame appears fixed, and there is no evidence it could have moved.
13/ There are several drawbacks to some of these which make their usefulness questionable. The SPG-9's would require reloading after every shot exposing the operator, while the gun in Hajin appeared fixed in a single place without the possibility of movement. However...
14/ other versions had advantages. They could be force multipliers that provided safety to the operator and couldn't be suppressed easily. IS certainly used them for years (and not just in propaganda) suggesting that they at least thought them to be effective.
15/ It's worth noting this isn't something invented or exclusive to IS. Several remote control guns were used by Syrian rebels like this STG-44. But IS developed the weapons further then rebels and used them on a larger scale.
End/ I have plenty more thoughts on this, but this thread is already way to long and I did initially say it was gonna be short... This was more popular then I expected so I may work on developing my thoughts into a short article, though I'll need to find somewhere to publish.
