The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Marlborough Communications Limited (MCL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) a contract for four unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for spiral 2 of the United Kingdom's Remote Platoon Vehicle (RPV) experimentation programme, the two companies announced in a joint press release on 27 August.
MCL and IAI have partnered to offer an RPV to meet the needs of an experimental UK programme designed to limit the exposure of personnel to harm. (MCL)
“Spiral 2 is aimed at delivering RPVs to support troops on the ground and limit their direct exposure to danger,” MCL told Janes in an email on 31 August. The company was previously awarded a contract under the first spiral of the RPV programme to provide four Mission Adaptable Platform System UGVs under an MoD project aiming to determine future UGV requirements.
IAI designed and manufactured the RPVs based on its Rex 4×4 UGV. “In addition to its ISTAR capabilities, the platform is capable of ad hoc logistic support such as the stowing of personal bergans [rucksacks], casualty extraction, and carriage of a range of other platoon equipment,” MCL said.
The RPV is 3.2 m long, 1.53 m wide, and 1.1 m high. When fully loaded, it weighs 1,800 kg, including a 550 kg payload. Its operational range is at least 100 km in silent mode and up to 300 km in hybrid mode.
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