The US armed forces is acquiring 600 additional Centaur unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) worth more than $70 million from technology company FLIR Systems.
The advanced ground robots will be used to disarm landmines and improvised explosive devices, as well as to perform similar dangerous tasks during military operations.
Authorized army personnel can also attach a variety of sensors and payloads to the vehicles to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
“The strong demand for this multi-purpose robot shows how well unmanned technology can support EOD teams across our military, enabling them to do their job more safely and effectively,” FLIR Systems official Tom Frost said. “We take enormous pride knowing Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines rely on the Centaur UGV to perform hazardous missions around the world every day.”
In addition to the 600 robots, the multimillion-dollar order includes additional spares, antennas, and payload mounting kits.
US Army Continuing to Upgrade Military Equipment
Last month, the US Army shared footage of how the battlefield will appear as viewed through its Enhanced Night Vision Goggle – Binoculars.
The 45-second video illustrated the superior view soldiers access, displayed glowing images of targets, which allows soldiers to engage without revealing themselves.
The US Air National Guard also announced the retrofitting of its MQ-9 Reaper drones to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. The upgrades will focus on communications systems, as well as their target identification tracking and processing capacities.
In addition to these upgrades, the US Air Force has unveiled an automated cleaning system to deep clean F-16 fighter jets at night, so the crew can focus on other tasks during the day.
“These jets are very hard to clean because the grease, oil hydraulic fluids, and debris that build up over 180 days are difficult to get off the paint. The landing gear is also hard to clean because there are so many nooks and crannies,” Staff Sergeant Kyle Padgett explained.