General Dynamics Land Systems [GD] next week will unveil its latest StrykerQB technology demonstrator, a hybrid-electric platform designed as a robotic controller vehicle.
Scott Taylor, the corporate’s director of U.S. business development, told
Defense Each day the brand new platform builds off the StrykerX demonstrator unveiled last 12 months and was informed by Army feedback and the service’s human-machine integration initiative.
“Last 12 months, StrykerX was something of an infantry carrier vehicle and the Army really wasn’t prepared for that. They simply didn’t see a necessity for it. But what we all know the Army is in dire need for is a robotic controller vehicle that may provide multi-robotic control for his or her human-machine integration campaign plan that they’re working on, bringing exponentially more capability to the fight and formations by pairing manned and unmanned formations,” Taylor said.
GD Land Systems will bring StrykerQB to next week’s Association of the USA Army’s (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, D.C., the identical event where the corporate rolled out its StrykerX and AbramsX demonstrators last 12 months (Defense Each day, Oct. 4 2022).
Company officials told Defense Each day last 12 months that StrykerX and AbramsX were intended to focus on latest capabilities that could possibly be applied as upgrades to existing fleets or for brand spanking new combat vehicle programs the Army may pursue.
Taylor noted the Army’s campaign of learning for its Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) effort has involved using M2A3 Bradleys as robotic controller vehicles for the surrogate prototypes it has worked with, including GD Land Systems’ Tracked Robot X-Ton (TRX), which informed the chance to construct out the StrykerQB demonstrator.
“It was very clear that a number of times they were attempting to jam into an existing vehicle with a really small space not designed for that type of visibility it takes to regulate multiple robots at the identical time, each air and ground,” Taylor said.
The Army last month chosen GD Land Systems’ TRX in addition to offerings from Textron Systems [TXT], Oshkosh Defense [OSK] and McQ Inc. for the first phase of its RCV competition, with each company tasked to deliver two prototype platforms by next August (Defense Each day, Sept. 21).
Taylor said he doesn’t see the Army as “ready to begin putting money on the table for a robotic controller vehicle,” adding GD Land Systems would love to see the platform as a part of experimentation efforts for the Army’s human-machine integration initiative.
“We see a chance here to learn with the Army whether the StrykerQB could possibly be a part of that and supply a nascent solution for that human-machine integration,” Taylor said.
The StrykerQB demonstrator is “substantially overhauled and reinvented” from StrykerX, Taylor noted, detailing among the enhancements from the previous platform.
“It was a considerable relook. Numerous the goodness that was in StrykerX, when it comes to increased size, weight [and] power capabilities, were kind of capitalized upon. After which we checked out, as a substitute of an infantry carrier vehicle, how could we create that area or that space where you might do multi-robotic control,” Taylor said. “There are some enhancements with [StrykerQB] when it comes to the security and functionality of the vehicle, an improvement and maturation off of last 12 months. Beyond multi-robotic control, there are some enhancements when it comes to 360-[degree situational awareness].”
Taylor said StrykerQB contains a Safran-built sight capability integrated on the platform to support the situational awareness required to operate robotic platforms in the sphere.
“The massive screen terminals which are within the back [of the vehicle] that enable the robotic control can now see through any one in all those sights on the vehicle or integrated into its 360[-degree situational awareness],” Taylor told Defense Each day.