US prepares micro-UGVs for Afghanistan evaluation

12 March 2012 - by Andrew White – Shepardmedia.com

The US DoD will shortly deploy hundreds of ‘ultra-lightweight’ UGVs to Afghanistan ahead of a proposed procurement of some 5,000 systems later this year, sources have revealed.

Speaking to Shephard, industry officials confirmed that the UGVs have been delivered to the DoD this week ahead of an in-theatre operational assessment which is scheduled to run until June.

It is understood that iRobot (110 FirstLook), Qinetiq (Dragon Runner), MacroUSA (Armadillo) and ReconRobotics (Recon Scout XT) have all supplied approximately one hundred systems each to the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) which is handling the requirement on behalf of the tri-services.

According to interim GM for iRobot’s military division Tim Trainer, the operational evaluation of the ‘ultra-lightweight robot category’ will comprise ‘various areas and communities and assess viability and usage to inform’ US armed forces.

Another competing party, which chose to remain anonymous, confirmed the move and described how over 100 UGVs had been ‘set aside’ as part of an in-theatre evaluation by JIEDDO.

In August, Shephard reported that the DoD has unleashed a joint urgent operational needs statement for ‘micro-bots’ in Afghanistan. Requirements continue to remain classified although the JIEDDO is believed to be looking for sub-10lb (4.5kg) platforms.

‘They will be evaluated for both infantry, engineer and EOD missions,’ Trainer explained in what he called a ‘rapid movement’ evaluation programme.

‘It is our expectation that this assessment will identify compatibility [issues] and perhaps revise requirements to come back into the larger procurement [and] see if there are any tweaks necessary,’ he added.

‘This requirement is slightly different to Iraq with dismounted operations on rugged terrain with long times between resupply,’ Trainer concluded.

Small UGVs are being used for a variety of ISR missions in Afghanistan as well as counter-IED taskings. They are sometimes thrown over compound walls to ‘recce’ an area ahead of an assault.

Trainer concluded: ‘We have seen the evolution of these systems from the early days of cave searches in Afghanistan through to more recent EOD and route clearance operations. The bigger opportunity is in the infantry world but [soldiers] lack the bandwidth to deal with multiple systems.

‘This is where autonomy comes into play,’ he mused. ‘How does a UGV semi-autonomously clear a building?’

The DoD was unavailable to comment on the programme.