The RCV program has officially transitioned from experimentation to field testing the Robotic Combat Vehicle platform.
The Army has signed agreements worth $24.72 million with four companies to design and build light Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) platform prototypes.
The agreements, which make up Phase I of a multi-phase competition, were awarded to McQ, Inc. in Fredericksburg, V.A.; Textron Systems Corp. in Hunt Valley, M.D.; General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights, Mich.; and Oshkosh Defense, LLC in Oshkosh, Wis.
The four companies will each build and deliver two platform prototypes by August 2024 and will concurrently develop and deliver integrated system designs towards Army requirements for a lightweight, modular and upgradeable robotic combat vehicle.
“The Army of 2030 and beyond will rely on systems with advanced technology and growth potential,” said Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems. “These are often developed by traditional and non-traditional business,” he said.
The RCV is part of the Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) family of vehicles, which also includes manned vehicles intended to replace the M2 Bradly, the M113 APC and eventually the M1 Abrams main battle tank.
RCVs will initially be controlled by operators riding in NGCVs, but improved ground navigation technology and artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually permit a single operator to control multiple RCVs or for RCVs to operate in a more autonomous mode.
According to a Congressional Research Service report from April 2023, the Army originally intended to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the vehicle platform. The plan was to use RCVs as scouts and escorts for manned fighting vehicles to block ambushes and guard the flanks of mechanized formations.
But in August 2023, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology Douglas R. Bush said that while the Army is interested in robots of many different sizes, it will focus on the light variant. “We think that’s a necessary first step before going to larger platforms…the Army has plans to defer RCV-M for the time being.”
Textron says its M5 RIPSAW provides speed, mobility and unmanned capability to silently maneuver around the battlefield. (Image: Textron Systems Corp.)
The RCV-Light will deliver increased situational awareness, lethality, and tactical options for Army formations in support of multi-domain operations. Its operators will remotely control RCVs or task them to operate semi-autonomously.
The the Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle Campaign Plan, which was drafted in January 2019, lays out the basic requirements for all potential RCV light variant prototypes. The RCV-L is to weigh no more than 10 tons and be no more than 224-in. in length, 88-in. wide and 94-in. tall, so a single RCV-L could be transported by a helicopter. The RCV-L must include self defense systems, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), or recoilless weapons and is considered an expendable weapon system, meaning its destruction in combat is expected and acceptable.
The winner of Phase I will be decided by 2025 and will have until 2026 to finalize system designs, build and deliver up to nine full-system prototypes. Performance, reliability and user testing will continue until 2027, with the first field-ready unit anticipated by 2028.
“Human-machine integrated teams are the future of successful ground combat in the land domain,” said Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team. “Bringing RCVs into our formations will give our soldiers new capabilities to fight and win with the changing character of war.”
The Army selected vendors for the Phase I through an Other Transaction Authority business tool—a procurement process that allows federal agencies to enter into agreements with non-traditional defense contractors, such as small businesses, research institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Earlier this year, the Army also entered into three OTAs for RCV autonomous software development over the next two years with the Defense Innovation Unit.
“The program office is leveraging lessons learned from previous surrogate prototyping and operational pilots at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif. to improve requirements and program of record acquisition strategies,” said Steve Herrick, product manager Robotic Combat Vehicle. “This marks the official transition for us out of experimentation and movement to a fieldable RCV platform prior to 2030.”
While currently on hold to focus on the light variant, the RCV-M is specified to be slightly larger than the light variant, weighing between 10 and 20 tons, and be no more than 230-in. long, 107-in. wide and 94-in. tall. A single RCV-M will be transported by a C-130 transport aircraft and will have increased onboard lethality to handle light and medium armored threats. The RCV-M is considered “durable” by the Army, meaning the Army would like the RCV-M to be more survivable than the RCV-L.
The heavy variant will be much larger, weighing between 20 and 30 tons, measuring no more than 350-in. long, 144-in. wide and 14-in. tall—a little smaller than the current M1 Abrams tank. In terms of transportability, two RCV-Hs would be transported by a C-17 transport aircraft. The RCV-H will carry direct fire weapon systems capable of defeating all known enemy armored vehicles and is considered a nonexpendable weapon system, meaning it should have the same survivability as a crewed system.
Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems is developing the RCV with the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, both based in Warren, Michigan.
