Shrinking Army Studies Buying Robots to support fewer Soldiers

Shrinking Army Studies Buying Robots to Replace Soldiers | DoD Buzz

While Cone reportedly talked about the possibility of using lighter,
less armored unmanned ground vehicles to follow manned platforms into
combat, such an application might still be decades away. Due in part to
automatic budget cuts, the Defense Department is actually decreasing research and development funding for unmanned systems this year by more than than a third, or $1.3 billion.

“We knew budgets would be declining,” Dyke Weatherington,
the Pentagon’s director of unmanned warfare and intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance, recently told Military​.com in an
interview. “I don’t think two years ago we understood how significant
the down slope was going to be so this road map much more clearly
addresses the fiscal challenges,” he said, referring to the department’s
latest report on the future of unmanned systems.

What’s more, the vast majority of the U.S. military’s requested drone
funding isn’t for ground systems. The Pentagon’s $4.1 billion budget
request for unmanned systems this year includes $3.7 billion for air
systems, $330 million for maritime systems and $13 million for ground
systems, according to budget documents.

Robots May Replace One-Fourth Of U.S. Combat Soldiers By 2030, Says General | Popular Science
U.S. Army Considers Replacing Thousands of Soldiers With Robots - IEEE Spectrum
I don't think IEEE or PopSci got the right idea - not fighters being replaced. 
 
SMSS · Lockheed Martin

The largest unmanned vehicle ever deployed with U.S. ground forces, the Lockheed Martin Squad Mission Support System leverages robotic technologies for unmanned transport and logistical support for light, early entry and special operations forces. It solves capability gaps by lightening the Soldier’s load and serving as a power management resource.

The SMSS will decrease the amount of time a Warfighter has to spend in controlling robotic systems by providing vehicles that can navigate autonomously. The SMSS’ supervised autonomy will provide the Warfighter with a reliable squad-size vehicle, which will improve combat readiness, while assuring re-supply channels and casualty evacuations.