The US Army Is Currently Deploying Robotic Combat Vehicles

[Researcher Guk-sik Lee, Mobile Firepower Research Team 1, Defense Technology Quality Institute] The U.S. Army has completed the first month-long operational experiment of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) and is currently compiling results to support future unmanned vehicle development.

This experiment was conducted to understand the current technological level and to review how robotic combat vehicles will be operated on future battlefields. The operational experiment, held from early July to early August at Fort Carson, Colorado, involved four RCVs based on the M113 armored personnel carrier and two manned control vehicles based on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Although not all technologies required for field operation were tested during the experiment, additional data useful for future RCV development and feedback from soldiers were obtained.

A U.S. Army official who participated in the experiment stated that the map interface used to track the location of the robotic vehicles was at a highly satisfactory level. They also expressed a certain level of satisfaction with the software connecting the RCVs and control vehicles. However, they mentioned that further research is needed regarding target recognition and target information transmission during movement, as well as weapon stabilization systems across various terrains.

The month-long experiment involved QinetiQ North America and Pratt & Miller, manufacturers of the lightweight Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV-L) prototypes, as well as Textron Systems, Howe & Howe Technologies, and FLIR Systems, manufacturers of the medium Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV-M) prototypes.

Although this experiment was conducted at the platoon level, the next soldier operational experiment scheduled for early 2022 at Fort Hood, Texas, will involve RCV-L and RCV-M vehicles and will be scaled up to the company level.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army plans to decide on the project promotion plan for RCV-L and RCV-M between 2023 and 2024. The large Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV-H) is still in the early stage of defining operational capabilities, and a more detailed review is expected during the third operational experiment scheduled for 2024.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.