{"id":40833,"date":"2021-03-17T04:22:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T04:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/03\/17\/us-army-prepping-robotic-combat-vehicles-for-big-test-with-soldiers-in-2022\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:23:46","slug":"us-army-prepping-robotic-combat-vehicles-for-big-test-with-soldiers-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/global-force-symposium\/2021\/03\/17\/us-army-prepping-robotic-combat-vehicles-for-big-test-with-soldiers-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"US Army prepping robotic combat vehicles for big test with soldiers in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army has taken receipt of its light and medium Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) prototypes<\/a> from industry teams and is putting them through the paces this year ahead of a major company-level soldier assessment in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service took delivery of the first of four RCV-Light vehicles from a QinetiQ North America and Pratt Miller team<\/a> \u2014 which won the contract<\/a> to produce the prototypes a year ago \u2014 in November 2020 with the other three arriving before the Christmas holiday, Alfred Grein, acting director and deputy executive director of Ground Combat Systems at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, said at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s Global Force Next virtual symposium on March 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RCV-L is a diesel-electric hybrid with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 8,500 pounds and a maximum payload of no more than 7,000 pounds, boasting a top speed of about 40 miles per hour, according to Grein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four prototypes were delivered to the Army\u2019s Ground Vehicle Systems Center where a team began integrating the government-developed Robotic Technology Kernel (RTK) autonomy software onto those platforms, Grein said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a functional checkout, the prototypes were sent to Texas A&M University\u2019s Rellis campus where, over the course of February, the team was able to pair them with a Mission Enabling Technology Demonstrator \u2014 or MET-D vehicle \u2014 to begin the manned-unmanned teaming process, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Army is expecting to receive its RCV-Medium prototypes from a Textron, Howe & Howe and FLIR team<\/a> starting at the end of April through May, the service took early delivery of a partially completed RCV-M in mid-February in order to begin integrating the RTK software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RCV-M is also a diesel-electric hybrid with a gross vehicle weight of 25,000 pounds. The vehicle is equipped with a remotely operated 30 mm cannon and has a top speed of over 25 miles per hour, according to Grein.<\/p>\n\n\n\t