Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS has revealed that it fired a Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) from its Protector Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) mounted on a Titan UGV for the first time in June 2019.
Kongsberg Executive Vice President Pål Bratlie told Jane’s that the Javelin missile was remotely launched using its CROWS M153 system.
A Javelin anti-tank guided missile being fired from the Titan UGV for the first time. (Kongsberg)
The live-fire demonstration – which also included the firing of the weapon station’s 12.7 mm machine gun (MG) – was carried out at Redstone Test Center in Alabama, US.
Video and fire-control data and command signals were securely transmitted over radio from the weapon station and the missile itself.
“The CROWS Javelin is being fielded on the [US Army’s] Stryker vehicles,” Bratlie said. “So we demonstrated a fully wireless capability for both the ground vehicle itself and the weapon station.
“This is based on our secure wireless communication with the system command and fire-control system,” he added. “This is a first wireless firing of a Javelin from a remote weapon station on an unmanned platform.”
Bratlie noted that this configuration is primarily aimed at the US market, which the company currently sees as a key driver of such requirements.
“We see the Javelin as a very capable missile and of course we can always integrate other missiles onto the system,” Bratlie explained. “The key for us is to demonstrate a secure capability for firing weapons from an autonomous platform.”
Bratlie noted that the company is presently focused on the light and medium platforms being developed for the US Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) programme.
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