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2015-05-01

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Technology

Delivering force multiplication to strengthen military operations around the globe

The state of conflict around the world, which is changing every day, is prompting many countries to invest in military technologies that enable them to do more with less.
These technologies can range from brand new systems to technology insertion kits that enhance the performance and capabilities of existing systems. In either case, militaries are looking to technical solutions to provide their troops with the strategic and tactical advantages they need to achieve their missions.

Today, militaries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are facing a number of challenges related to increasing their logistics capabilities without additional manpower.

As seen at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), many countries are exploring unmanned systems to provide new capabilities to monitor and protect their borders and ensure national security. At the conference, John Beck, chief engineer from Oshkosh Defense presented a new era of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) technology. Beck described the unprecedented performance of the Oshkosh TerraMax® UGV including its force multiplication advantages, which empowers a single operator to supervise multiple unmanned ground vehicles from a stand-off distance. This key feature not only increases manpower, but minimizes the number of troops exposed to potential threats such as IEDs. The future with UGV, according to Beck, can reduce the number of troops needed for missions by transforming existing tactical vehicle fleets and ground operations vehicles into unmanned systems.

Oshkosh Defense, the company that designs and builds tactical wheeled vehicles for the U.S. military and many of its allies, is aleader in UGV technology. This powerful capability, combined with a military tested and user-friendly operator interface, empowers a single operator to supervise the operation of multiple unmanned assets simultaneously from another vehicle within the convoy. This level of force multiplication can be optimized to the specific threat.

TerraMax UGV technology is designed as a scalable kit that can be tightly integrated onto any tactical vehicle, including existing fleets, without compromising the vehicle’s original payload and performance capabilities. The Oshkosh TerraMax UGV system provides state-of-the-art autonomous operation for extended periods of time, day or night, through dust and adverse weather without the fatigue or loss of awareness that can commonly afflict human operators.The TerraMax system can also provide advanced driver assistance and active-safety features such as electronic stability control, forward collision warning and 360-degree vision enhancement.

The Oshkosh Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) cargo trucks were equipped with the TerraMax UGV system and evaluated as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Cargo UGV initiative, which brought UGV capabilities to logistics convoy missions. The Marines were trained in just three days, and completed UGV convoy missions, demonstrated obstacle avoidance and attained speeds of more than 55 km/hr. Oshkosh is also conducting TerraMax UGV operational testing to identify UGV opportunities for reconnaissance and route clearance missions.

By leveraging its state-of-the-art UGV technology and military vehicle expertise, Oshkosh brings game-changing technology that can help Middle Easternforces supplement existing personnel and equipment to strengthen operations. As today’s MENA military leaders prepare for future conflicts, UGVs are able to redefine ground operations.

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