Oshkosh Defense has submitted a proposal to the US Army’s much-awaited Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) competition.
The proposal responds to the service’s request earlier this year for the program’s platform prototype design and build phase.
Oshkosh said its collaboration with Pratt Miller Defense and QinetiQ resulted in the development of a “mature” and “established” RCV solution that could soon benefit the US Army.
The company further stated that the “elite” team leveraged cutting-edge technologies and manufacturing expertise to build an autonomous vehicle tailored to meet various military requirements.
“The Oshkosh RCV is an evolution of a decade of innovation, development, and testing. And it shows,” Oshkosh chief programs officer Pat Williams said.
“Our solution is optimized to exceed the performance requirements and is ready now to meet the demanding program schedule.”
Requirements
The US Army’s RCV program aims to provide warfighters with the necessary speed, range, and convergence to meet emerging battlefield challenges.
The state-of-the-art vehicle is expected to deliver increased situational awareness, lethality, and tactical options to the army in support of multi-domain operations.
During the first phase of the competition, the vendors’ proposals will be evaluated on their performance and design maturity.
The robotic vehicle must be lightweight and easily transportable to provide an advantage to soldiers.
“Human-machine integration is a technical disruptor in the land domain. Bringing RCVs into our formations will give our soldiers new capabilities to fight and win on the battlefield of the future,” combat vehicles director Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman said.
The US Army will begin the second phase of the program in the fall. After that, it will select one vendor to deliver full-system prototypes.
Oshkosh’s RCVs
Earlier this year, Oshkosh Defense showcased two RCVs at a symposium hosted by the Association of the United States Army.
The vehicles feature a hybrid-electric powertrain, making them suitable for covert operations.
The first RCV on display featured Kongsberg’s common remotely operated weapon station and an M2 .50-caliber machine gun.
The other robotic vehicle is outfitted with the RS6 Remote Weapon Station from Kongsberg and an XM913 30×113-millimeter cannon.
According to Williams, both vehicles boast an open architecture to allow rapid reconfiguration and seamless software and hardware integration.