Feature: Asia-Pacific militaries ramp up development of combat UGVs

Norinco's VU-T10 is seen displayed at Airshow China 2024. (Janes/Sam Wise)

Countries in the Asia-Pacific are accelerating the development of combat unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) with the aim to minimise troop exposure to hostile activity and to enhance operations in remote locations.

Aligned with regional countries' advancing military modernisation targets, these UGVs are also being integrated with new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous navigation to enhance operational efficiency.

The expanding multirole features of UGVs enable their deployment across challenging Asia-Pacific terrains and weather conditions to fulfil functions including combat, reconnaissance, surveillance, patrol, and mine clearance. The expansion of capabilities has also prompted an increase in the size of UGVs. Modern UGVs, integrated with increased payloads, can also function as an ambulance and to transport troops.

UGVs in the Asia-Pacific are also being integrated with armoured vehicles to support manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operations. Singapore's ST Engineering, for instance, has integrated its manned Terrex s5 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) with MUM-T capabilities, enabling the vehicle to operate in co-ordination with various linked unmanned ground and aerial vehicles.

Some regional countries have also introduced programmes to convert tanks and armoured vehicles into fully automated unmanned systems. These programmes are largely developmental. For example, BAE Systems Australia (BAES) has converted Australian Army M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) into optionally crewed platforms.

Previously, UGVs consisted mainly of small robots meant for mine clearance, unexploded ordnance (UXO) removal, and improvised explosive device (IED) detect-and-defeat. However, the size of UGVs being developed and operated in the Asia-Pacific is becoming more varied, from small robots to platforms as large as manned armoured vehicles.