'Thermonator' robot dog with flame thrower attached goes on sale

A working robot dog with a flamethrower attached to its back has gone on sale in America - yes, you read that correctly.

Manufacturer Throwflame first teased its new creation, called the Thermonator, last summer and it's now gone on sale.

To mark the occasion, Throwflame has shared a new video of what the Thermonator can do.

The video, which last just under two minutes, starts by showing the flamethrower on the back of the Thermonator being filled up with lighter fluid before the machine prowls around different outdoor locations.

It's then shown in the dark with a bright torch and a laser coming from the flamethrower, before prowling a woodland with a fiery backdrop.

Then it shows the Thermonator proudly spewing flames including one shot which shows it can jump while doing so.

This is all set to the score from Oppenheimer.

On its website, Throwflame markets the Thermonator as: "The first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog. This quadruped is coupled with the ARC Flamethrower to deliver on-demand fire anywhere!"

It's advertised for uses like wildlife control, agricultural management and entertainment.

It comes with a huge price tag though, just shy of $10k at $9,420.

The dog itself appears to be based on the Unitree Go1 by Unitree Robotics, described as 'the world's first intelligence bionic quadruped robot companion of consumer level'.

According to Throwflame, its version of the robot comes equipped with LiDAR mapping, which could allow some degree of autonomous navigation.

The attached weapon on the back of the Thermonator is Throwflame's own ARC Flamethrower, which costs up to $899.

The dog is WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, along with an hour-long battery life and it has a camera so it can be viewed from a first-person perspective.

It can produce flames up to 30 feet in range - its fuel tank appears to be quite small too.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.