US Army, Air Force and Navy expect delivery of 250 UGVs by FLIR Syrtems

WASHINGTON, (BM) – Very soon, the US Army, Navy and Air Force will acquire and commission 250 drones, which will be delivered by FLIR Systems, after the company won an order worth approximately $ 32 million, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.

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The US military has a program and system called Man Increment II, which deals with robotic means to the Pentagon. It is under this program FLIR Systems will deliver the necessary robotic ground resources.

However, this is not new for FLIR. The company is already using a larger order from the Pentagon worth nearly $ 97 million to deliver 750 unmanned ground vehicles called the Centaur. This delivery has been going on for the last 12 months. The new delivery is also related to the same robotic resource model.

What is the Centaur of FLIR for? It is a robotic unmanned system that detonates bombs and other explosives, not only specifically for the military, but also for other specialized anti-bomb units in the United States. Centaur has equipment that can detect various types of threats, in addition to the existing bomb – chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear threats. All this, the unmanned ground system detects it thanks to integrated and built-in sensors in its structure.

The robot weighs approximately 73 kilograms, is equipped with various types of sensors and optical systems, including infrared, as well as a robotic arm to perform manipulative activities. The machine can even climb stairs and is built on an open infrastructure.

According to FLIR Vice President Tom Frost, the company is extremely proud and pleased that not just anyone, but the US military, trusts their Centaur to carry out various military and security operations. Frost also says that the modern equipment available to the robot can give a serious advantage to its user and change the “rules of the game” on the battlefield.

FLIR Systems will start the first deliveries of the already ordered 250 unmanned ground vehicles at the beginning of next year, and it is assumed that this is the first quarter of 2021.

Americans did it and put into service the first robotic combat vehicle

As we have repeatedly reported this year, the US Army has conducted a series of tests on robotic infantry fighting vehicles of various shapes, characteristics and functionality. In a statement just a few days ago [November 11 – ed.] it became clear that the US Army has taken the next step – the commissioning of the first robotic combat vehicle.

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This is RCV-L, which is a joint development of QinetiQ Inc. and Pratt Miller Defense, with the new robotic combat vehicle provided to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command [CCDC] Ground Systems Center [GVSC].

According to Michael Rose, Branch Chief for Robotic Combat Platforms, GVSC Ground Vehicle Robotics the delivery of the first robotic combat vehicle is the result of teamwork and collaboration only, both between the companies that manufactured the tool and between government agencies that have fully assisted in making it happen. According to Michael, despite the pandemic and the aggravated international situation due to the spreading coronavirus, everyone has managed to focus their efforts and make the planned delivery on time. By 2022, the US military is expected to receive more similar robotic weapons, and this delivery is the first of four planned in the coming years.

“We are proud to deliver the first Robotic Combat Vehicle to the U.S. Army,” said Laurent Lannibois, QinetiQ’s RCV Program Manager. According to Laurent, the delivered weapon is fully equipped and ready for integration into the US Army and can enter service immediately and carry out its combat operations without any problems.

What exactly is RCV-L? The RCV-L is the result of years of design, development and testing, according to Prat Miller, product manager Brian Barr. The vehicle is quite flexible in terms of its functionality and extremely maneuverable, as well as fast in terms of the speed at which it moves. The combat robotic vehicle itself has an autonomous mode of operation, which will allow it in the future to integrate into the overall tactical combat concept of military operations and to perform missions tailored to the devices with which it communicates and exchanges information.

As we said earlier, the contract between the US government and the manufacturer of the robotic combat vehicle includes the delivery of a total of four similar machines. Earlier this year, the United States commissioned Pratt Miller and QinetiQ to develop the first prototype, and according to official statements, the two companies were able to meet the challenges and time to deliver the first working robotic combat vehicle.

US announced the beginning of development a robotic unmanned artillery

The American army is unconditionally considered the strongest and most advanced in the world. In terms of the introduction of all new technologies, futuristic projects and robotics in particular, it is the US Army that is considered the pioneer. So, judging by the statement of the Pentagon press service, the United States is preparing to introduce robotic artillery, as we already reported on September 20 this year.

For the first time, futuristic technologies of unmanned combat began to be used in the development of artillery troops, reports comandir.com. Previously, a pilot-operator of the system was always required to operate artillery in combat. The first thing that will improve the robotic unmanned artillery of the future is the mobility of combat, informs comandir.com. Artillery barrage is considered the most vulnerable and immobile type of troops in combat. The deployment of anti-aircraft systems, the operator’s headquarters and other elements created a stable position for the army, which is very long and costly to move.

Robotic complexes, as planned by the Pentagon, will move around like typical military drones. After testing the system, it is assumed that such artillery will gradually switch to an automatic mode not only for movement across the battlefield, but also for automatic shelling of the enemy, reports comandir.com. Mike Murray, General of the US Army and Head of Advanced Development, personally announced that a prototype of the first robotic installation will be tested in exercises as early as October 2020.

Most of the work on the new system, which is actively being prepared for future implementation in all regiments of the US Army, was carried out by IT specialists, informs comandir.com. According to Murray, this is a requirement of the new era, in which war is becoming an increasingly technological action.

Read more: Four US companies will develop artificial intelligence for the military

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