From Military.com:
“Army Hopes to Field Robotic Mules to Carry Gear Next Year”
The Army will begin equipping combat units next year with
remote-controlled robotic vehicles designed to carry ammunition, water and
other heavy combat necessities for soldiers, if officials at Fort Benning,
Georgia, get their way. The Army has been experimenting with the concept of
robotic mules for more than a decade. But the performance of four competing
prototypes of a Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET) during a recent
operational test demonstration with units from the 10th Mountain and 101st
Airborne divisions has made believers out of officials from Benning's Maneuver
Capabilities and Integration Directorate (MCID). "The operational test
demonstration really showed that the capability is ready," Col. Tom
Nelson, director for Robotics Requirements Division at MCID, told reporters
Tuesday. The SMET is capable of hauling 1,000 pounds of soldier gear for 60
miles within 72 hours, and will also generate three kilowatts of power to
charge the growing number of tactical electronic devices soldiers carry,
according to officials at MCID, the organization that has the lead for developing
and testing robotics and autonomous systems designed for Army brigade combat
teams (BCTs). Last November, the MCID conducted an operation test demonstration
involving the four vendor prototypes in the SMET effort -- Polaris Industries
Inc.'s MRZR, General Dynamics Land Systems' MUTT, HDT Global Hunter's WOLF, and
Howe and Howe Technologies Inc.'s Grizzly. The test equipped one BCT from the
10th Mountain and one from the 101st Airborne with eight prototypes from each
vendor. The units tested them at home station and during training at the Joint
Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, according to Benning
officials. The initial name for the project was Squad Multipurpose Equipment
Transport. But, when the test ended this spring, it was clear to MCID officials
that issuing such a large vehicle to a squad would end up being a burden. "The
bottom line [as to] why we said it's not appropriate as a squad system is,
although the SMET has broad utility over many conditions ... there are places
where we ask our soldiers to go where nothing else can go -- that very complex
terrain, jungle terrain, steep embankments, water and dense urban
environments," said Don Sando, MCID director. "There are areas
soldiers can walk and crawl and climb that we just couldn't put a vehicle of
this size with them." The plan now is to make SMET a battalion asset so
squads, platoons and companies can benefit from the new vehicle but don't have
to maintain it. "The battalion has the capability with its support company
to move the SMET from where it is to where it needs to be and not burden the
squad or the rifle platoon or the rifle company, for that matter, of having to
administratively or tactically get it from where it is to where it needs to
be," Sando said. The SMET is currently going through the requirements
approval process in the Army Requirements Oversight Council. Benning officials
hope that process will be complete by this summer, so the Army can begin the
down-select process to choose the SMET prototype that will go into production
for fielding next year. "So that is moving quickly because we want to
begin fielding in fiscal year 2020," Sando said. Army officials would not
say how many SMETs will be fielded, but the initial plan is to field "a
number of systems to a few brigades, to include some of our training
centers," he said. The next step of the SMET effort will involve refining
"modular mission payloads" that can be mounted on the vehicle to
conduct additional missions, Sando said. "That's the next logical step --
what other payloads can I put on that ... besides just carrying supplies?"
he said. "Can I put sensors on it? Can I put communications relay systems
on it? Can I put weapons systems on it? Our answer to all of those is
yes."
^ This sounds really interesting and one way to help supply soldiers
in the field and in a warzone. ^
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