The integration of the two capabilities marks an effort to develop market thinking on the future roles of RCVs and the support they may need, or give to other vehicles, on the battlefield.
RCVs look set to take a prominent position in the configuration of military land forces in future conflict, progressively taking humans away from ‘dumb, dangerous and dirty’ tasks and affording skilled personnel the time and safety to outwit adversaries.
Engineering Director at Pearson Engineering, Jason Riby said “How RCVs will be deployed is still a matter of discussion with a trend towards lighter, nimbler, and more multi-purpose vehicles able to undertake a multitude of roles independently”.
“The fact remains, that these vehicles will need to move to places of their Commander’s choosing and in doing so, will need to defeat the wide range of natural and deliberate obstacles usually encountered on the battlefield. An RCV without protection may still be subject to enemy action, if not to injure soldiers, but to stop valuable assets in their tracks”.
“The Type-X is designed to be a wingman for manned IFV’s and MBT’s and it can have many different roles on the battlefield. Combining it with excellent protection and route proving technologies from Pearson Engineering will significantly increase the survivability of not only the Type-X, but also of manned units,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.” The future battlefield is about manned-unmanned teaming, and the task of the industry is to provide clever solutions for capability building,” Väärsi added.
The Type-X RCV is equipped with intelligent functions such as follow-me, waypoint navigation and obstacle detection with Artificial Intelligence part of the algorithms.
The vehicle’s maximum speed is 80 km/h on paved roads and 50 km/h off-road. The low weight of 12 tons of the Type-X and high power with efficient power management provide a superior terrain capability.
The integration of the Light Weight Mine Roller (a type of roller designed for self-protection) to the Type X at DSEI gives just one example of the range of possibilities available for the future of unmanned vehicles on the battlefield. Equipment to support minefield breaching, route clearance, obstacle reduction, recovery and gap crossing could also be integrated, and some of this has already been proved possible during trials in the United States with the Remote Control Assault Breacher Vehicle (R-ABV).
The Light Weight Mine Roller will be integrated via a Pearson Engineering Vehicle Integration Kit. This will allow Type-X to easily accept a number of different types of front end equipment; including dozer blades, equipment for the clearance of surface laid mines and for assault gap crossing.
Pearson Engineering and Milrem Robotics are also exploring options for the THeMIS Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). The multi-role UGV has been operationally proven on exercise and has already been acquired by 11 countries, including 7 NATO members.
Our battle proven minefield breaching products provide armoured vehicles with the capability to defeat anti-tank mines. Whether intended for deliberate breaching or to support ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ for fighting vehicles, our blast-resistant ploughs give Commanders the option to move unimpeded and in doing so, maintain a battlefield advantage.
Our earth loading capability delivers a powerful digging and carrying ability, enabling armoured vehicles to transport materials, clear obstacles, dig and fill trenches and to assist in construction tasks. Our loaders can be provided with varying degrees of function and therefore complexity to support different mission sets.
Our interrogation capability is rooted in providing additional capability for Counter-IED and Route Proving operations. To supplement physical detection from ground engaging roller systems, our interrogation arm can be used to further understand the nature of threats and to identify where risks may be present outside of the path of the roller.
Our obstacle and earth moving products include general purpose and multi-purpose dozer blades, designed specifically to meet the needs of different mission sets. Our blades are designed to be tough, robust and lightweight, enabling a wide range of obstacle and earth moving activities whilst minimising the impact on the vehicle’s mobility.
Typically used alongside Pearson Engineering’s Route Opening Mine Plough, Surface Clearance Device or Route Proving rollers, our highly configurable obstacle marking systems support battlefield mobility by quickly and reliably marking safe lanes and the edge of hazardous areas.
Our excavation capability is designed to support combat engineer operations such as digging, demolishing, removing obstacles and filling trenches to support Area Access and Area Denial.
Our approach is often described as a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ in that host vehicles can be adapted to take on various combat engineering roles, or to overcome challenges to mobility. Integration of our products with the vehicle is made via a Pearson Engineering Direct Fit Interface or Pearson Engineering Quick Connect. The most suitable integration method depends on the mission requirements and vehicle capabilities. Our engineers will work closely with end-users and vehicle manufacturers to define the most appropriate route to minimise the impact on the vehicle and to maximise operational capability. Decisions are often based on hydraulic and electrical availability as well as the required role of the vehicle. Our integration kits are used to fit products that are designed to enhance armoured vehicle agility, tactical flexibility and adaptability. They are designed to be configurable and to deliver ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ to operations.
Our recovery capability includes a range of dedicated and multi-purpose blades which are primarily designed to support the recovery of other vehicles and for moving of heavy obstacles. A powerful ground-engaging blade sinks into the earth to hold a vehicle static, acting as the force against which the obstacle can be pulled. The same blade can be articulated to provide some obstacle and earth moving capability.
Surface laid mines represent a rising threat as Armed Forces turn their attention to near peer conflict. Our solutions, each designed to support the missions of dedicated combat engineer vehicles or fighting vehicles, provide a comprehensive detect and displace capability to support deliberate clearance or self-extraction in the face of air delivered scatterable mines.
Our highly configurable rollers have saved countless lives, limbs and assets on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and have succeeded in ensuring ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ for soldiers around the world. Provided as either a full-width ‘route proving’ variant to actively check routes for the presence of Improvised Explosive Devices, or as a track-width ‘self-protection’ variant, our rollers are designed specifically to meet the needs of wide-ranging operational requirements. Our continued Research & Development and our approach to customisation provides confidence to those who use them.
Like all of Pearson Engineering’s products, our assault gap crossing solutions are designed to be modular, to be interchangeable with other mobility and counter-mobility equipment and to support ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ on the battlefield. In a time when units are tasked to ‘march divided and fight united’, independent manoeuvre support is key.
Our range of Mine Clearance platforms and tools provide Armed Forces and other organisations with scalable solutions for mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal and the defeat of improvised explosive devices. Our platforms and their tools can also be used to create mobility challenges for adversaries. Proven around the world, these mine clearance platforms and their tools are designed specifically to meet the needs of different operational contexts from large area clearance to support logistics and peace keeping operations through to clearance in complex terrain.