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Late, Late, Late Open Comment Post. 17 Oct 2019

QinetiQ North America and Pratt and Miller Defense Announce Robotic Combat Vehicle Partnership

via Press Release.

- QinetiQ North America (QNA) and Pratt and Miller Defense are pleased to announce their partnership on the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program at the 2019 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

QNA is a leading provider of unmanned systems for the defense market with over 20 years of experience helping the US Military develop and field advanced, safety-critical, robotic solutions. Currently supporting the US Army with robotic systems from 20 pounds to 20 tons, QNA is focused on modular interoperable solutions that ensure the systems fielded today are ready for tomorrow's threats.

QNA and Pratt & Miller will submit a variant of the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) tailored to the Robotic Combat Vehicle program's specific requirements. The Robotic Combat Vehicle submission will leverage QNA's modular open architecture unmanned ground vehicle control systems integrated with Pratt & Miller's advanced mobility platform. The resulting system is a robust non-developmental solution demonstrated to fulfill the Government's required attributes. The RCV base platform has been proven through direct warfighter experimentation to be agile, powerful, and highly reliable.

"QinetiQ North America has focused on fielding advanced technical solutions to help our military counter emerging threats for over 25 years," stated QNA's President Jeff Yorsz. "We are excited to team with a company that has equal passion of providing groundbreaking real-world solutions to our warfighters."

Pratt & Miller Defense specializes in the development and manufacturing of advanced vehicles and systems for the demanding requirements of the military. Matt Carroll, Pratt & Miller CEO expressed his support of the team "Our combined cultures of innovation and expertise in supporting the warfighter will provide the US Army with a mature world class solution for the RCV program."

The RCV configuration of EMAV will be displayed at AUSA 2019 in Washington, D.C., October 14-16.

I have no problem with this vehicle.

So don't take this statement as being a slam against QinetiQ NA in anyway.

I'm thinking about the concept of combat armored vehicles.

Are we putting the cart in front of the horse here?

I still remember the Terramax.

It was supposed to fill in for convoy work but got shelved.  Now they're not even going for a basic logistics role but pushing forward into combat vehicles?

Are robots that smart?

I keep seeing leap ahead tech instead of doing the NASA thing of working in building blocks.  Ya know the old crawl, walk, run thing.

Are we getting industry spun up on something that won't be bought?  Are we seeing effort being wasted on concepts that will never be purchased (at least not within the next 5 years)?

I hope not but I think so.

GLSDB | Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb | Saab

Eli Lea's Tweet shows the AS21 Redback rollout!

Thanks to Ogden for the link!

AS21 Redback in the flesh in Sth Korea. Similar, but not the same turret as that on offer for L400 P3 but first clean shots of the Hull on offer. @MatthewsECLIPS @2805662 @DTRmag @nicholadrummond @thinkdefence @strategic_tank @MMaenpaa1 @gammelfenkan https://t.co/AD14O2tIky

— Eli Lea (@EliLea1) October 15, 2019

Like Ogden said.  We have us a damn horse race in Aussie land.

Thanks Aussies!  Your competition has given us a couple of outstanding IFVs...I don't think you can go wrong by picking either.

Is this gonna boil down to a price shootout?

AUSA: Ripsaw Gen 5 (Howe & Howe)

Thanks to Snafuperman for the pic!

Imagine this thing reworked as an Airborne Infantry Support Vehicle!  Two man crew, driver and gunner/track commander, and add a few more sensors so it could flex into a recon vehicle too.

When I first saw it I was thinking what the fuck.  Now?  I'm thinking so fucking cool!

Hanwha’s 42-tonne next generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the Redback is S. Korea's K21 Replacement...

via Asia Pacific Defense Reporter.com

At a ceremony this morning in the South Korean capital, the country’s Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon watched the unveiling of Hanwha’s 42-tonne next generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the Redback.  Built by industrial giant Hanwha, the Redback has been shortlisted for the Army’s $15 billion competition for around 450 vehicles, which will replace Vietnam era M113 armoured personnel carriers.  The other contender is the Rheinmetall Lynx.

The first vehicle was completed about one month ago and has now been shown in public for the first time after a series of company maneuverability trials.  This IFV plus another two will be shipped to Australia in one year from now for further tests to be conducted by the Army and the Defence Science and Technology Group for the phase of the competition known as the Risk Mitigation Activity.

Story here. 

I'm a fine one to complain but this article wanders all over the place.  Big take away?  The Redback is a modernized K21 and is slated to replace it in the near future.

Add this vehicle to the list of one of the most capable in the world.  Just like it's older, but smaller big brother.

Marine Combat Training? SgtMajor Of The Army..."Naw, we're not gonna do that"!

via Military.com

The drill sergeant at the U.S. Army Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia and former Marine asked the Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston to consider creating additional, combat-focused training like the three-week MCT course all new Marines go to after boot camp during a forum at the 2019 Association of the United States Army's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

"What is the possibility of bringing something like Marine Combat Training into the force to build up that lethality within the soft-skilled [military occupational specialties] and not just the infantry and combat arms?" Broadhead asked. "After Boot Camp, they go to three weeks of infantry training then they go on to their MOS training."

Grinston appeared surprised by the question. "Yeah, we are not going to do that, probably," he said, prompting a few chuckles from the audience.

Story here. 

Well I guess that's that.

Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck Concept

via Motor 1.

The company behind the Humvee is looking to take the Gladiator into battle.

The Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck Concept comes from the cooperation between AM General, maker of the Humvee, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the idea for a new light tactical vehicle. The current version imagines the pickup as functioning for military communications work, but AM General could develop variants to meet a customer's specific needs, including as a transporter or for command and control duties. The rig makes its debut at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army.

"This new venture gives us an opportunity to showcase our expertise in light tactical vehicles and help FCA maximize the Gladiator's global reach and potentially enter new military markets," AM General President and CEO Andy Hove said about the concept in the truck's announcement.

AM General doesn't provide much detail about what it does to make the Gladiator XMT ready to fight. The firm only says that it adds "custom-built and commercially available military-grade parts" to improve the Jeep's capability. The company would offer it with gasoline and diesel engine options.

AM General is clear that this concept only exists to gauge customer interest and gather feedback for now. Until a client arrives to commission a production version, don't expect to see these Jeeps on the battlefield. The company could be ready to put this military-grade Gladiator as soon as the second half of 2020 if the orders come.

While not a military-grade truck, there are spy shots suggesting that Jeep is developing a high-performance Gladiator called the Hercules. It features a heavily revised hood for covering the higher-output engine. Rumors suggest the powerplant's output is around 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts).

Textron Systems Brand Anthem

Grizzly™

COMMANDO® Family of Vehicles

It is so good to see Textron getting its mojo back.  They're rising out of their crouch and are back in the game.  Great to see.