Multi-purpose UGV requirement under development for US Marine Corps

American Rheinmetall Vehicles displayed its first prototype of the Mission Master UGV upgraded for swimming in the surf zone. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is looking for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that can conduct more than one mission, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Humr, deputy director for Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems, announced on 29 April.

“We're placing unmanned systems at the most hazardous points to preserve our most adaptable combat power, which is really our individual marines,” he said during a panel at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, DC.

The service wants a “platform that can do a lot of things at the same time”, said Lt Col Humr. However, not everything “because we know that we get to the point of trying to make one system that does everything really well, we end up with some Frankenstein that does nothing well”, he said.

A robotic common controller – also of interest to the marines – will help operators control multiple domains of robots near simultaneously.

Lt Col Humr did not provide a timeline for potential requirements to be firmed up.

Because of new requirements and research into robotics the USMC has done in recent years, the service is planning to publish a new Marine Corps Robotics and Autonomous Systems (MCRAS) road map, he said. While the classified document could be finalised this summer, an unclassified version could be released at some point to help industry focus in on particular solutions, Lt Col Humr said.

The last road map was published in 2019.

Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory