American technology firm Teledyne FLIR has announced that it will manufacture and deliver nearly 500 Centaur unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the US armed forces.
With a total value of $62.1 million, the contract also requires the company to supply additional spares, antennas, and payload mounting kits for the multi-mission robots.
Teledyne FLIR official Tom Frost said the order reflects the Centaur’s status as one of the “most versatile” and “sought after” tactical UGVs for supporting military missions.
“Our team is honored to play a role in providing technology US warfighters depend on for risky and sometimes deadly missions,” he said.
Delivery of an initial batch of the unmanned systems is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Centaur UGVs
The Centaur is a medium-sized UGV for detecting, identifying, and disposing of landmines and other explosive devices.
It has an advanced electro-optic/infrared camera suite and modular payloads to detect chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
The robot vehicle comes with a manipulator arm that can reach objects up to six feet (1.8 meters) away.
“Centaur also can be used effectively for UXO (unexploded ordnance) clearance in hotspots such as Ukraine, and with global security threats on the rise, allied nations can leverage this multi-purpose robot to support a wide array of manned/unmanned operations,” Frost explained.
The delivery will bring the total number of Centaur UGVs provided to the US military to 1,800.
