{"id":34088,"date":"2020-08-07T05:40:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T05:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/07\/heavy-robotic-combat-vehicles-put-to-test-in-the-colorado-mountains\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:49:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:49:44","slug":"heavy-robotic-combat-vehicles-put-to-test-in-the-colorado-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2020\/08\/07\/heavy-robotic-combat-vehicles-put-to-test-in-the-colorado-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy robotic combat vehicles put to test in the Colorado mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army grappled with the challenge of incorporating heavy robotic combat vehicles into its formations during a monthlong experiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, <\/a>coming away with a clearer path to bringing robots into the fold<\/a>. Still, the service is years away from ground robots seamlessly fitting in with units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has been evaluating the performance and possible utility of heavy RCVs for more than a year through the use of robotic versions of M113 armored personnel carriers, but the experiment at Camp Red Devil on Fort Carson is the most complex to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking a lot of technology, we\u2019re experimenting and this experiment was 100 percent successful,\u201d Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, who is in charge of the Army\u2019s combat vehicle modernization efforts, told reporters in an Aug. 6 briefing. \u201cThe whole purpose was to learn where the technology is now and how we think we want to fight with it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffman said that doesn\u2019t mean all of the technology was successful or that everything performed perfectly. \u201cSome [technology] knocked our socks off, and some we\u2019ve got a little bit of work to do. But that is why we do these things, so we can do it at small scales, so we can learn, save money and then make decisions of how we want to fight in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going the distance<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part, the Army is tackling a physics problem as well as a technology challenge involving the distance between the robot and the controller, Coffman said. But the service has found companies that can create waveforms to get the required megabytes per second to extend the range in the most challenging environments like dense forested areas, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the experimentation, Coffman said, the Army tested the waveforms. \u201cWe went after them with [electronic warfare], we saw they were self-correcting, so that if they\u2019re on one band, they can switch to another,\u201d he said, \u201cso we have a really good idea of what is in the realm of the possible today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Future wars will be fought with mechanized battle buddies. (Army Times\/Jacki Belker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The service was also able to almost double the range between controller and robot using the waveforms available, he explained. \u201cIf you could extend the battlefield up to 2 kilometers with a robot, then that means that you can make decisions before your enemy came, and it gives you that trade space of decisions faster and more effectively against the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army was also very pleased with the interface for the crew. The soldiers were able to located themselves and the robots, communicate among themselves, and see the graphics that \u201cjust absolutely blows us away,\u201d Coffman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The software between the robot and control vehicle \u2014 a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle \u2014 \u201cwhile not perfect, performed better than we thought it would,\u201d Coffman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The software also allowed the robot move in front of the control vehicle by roughly 80-1,000 meters as well as identify hotspots and enemy locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know how that was going to work,\u201d Coffman said. \u201cThere were some challenges that we had, like getting exact granularity at distance, but the ability that we could identify hotspots and enemy positions I thought was absolutely exceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a side experiment, the Army also tested a robotic version of the Stryker Dragoon infantry combat vehicle, which is equipped with a 30mm cannon and uses the same software and hardware in control vehicles, Coffman noted. The experiment included live fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the heavy RCV surrogates, the target recognition worked while stationary, but part of the challenge the Army is tackling is how to do that on the move while passing information to a gunner, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work on stabilizing the system for multiple terrains also needs performed, but that was indicative of using clunky, old M113s and turning them into robots rather than having a purpose-built vehicle like the RCV Medium and RCV Light.<\/p>\n\n\n\t