US Army backs stealthy robotic trucks to transform military logistics

Soldiers may soon be doing a bit less pack hauling as the US Department of Defense taps American Rheinmetall and Harbinger to develop a new generation of stealthy, inexpensive, and expendable robotic trucks designed to carry cargo to the battlefield.

We live in a time of tremendous technological change, to the point where it's easy to think the human condition is on the verge of being transformed. However, spending a few days with an infantry unit can quickly dispel that notion, as soldiers continue to do what they have always done: haul supplies across broken, muddy terrain through sheer muscle power.

Today's armies are logistical marvels, with each combat platoon representing the sharp tip of a very long supply spear. Despite militaries operating support networks that rival commercial systems in scale and often exceed them in speed, there inevitably comes a point where all the ships, aircraft, helicopters, trucks, and railways in the world must give way to soldiers manually carrying boxes and bales to the front line.

In the hope of narrowing this gap and leaving soldiers better rested, military planners are increasingly turning to robotics. Self-driving trucks have existed for more than 20 years, though their use has largely been limited to convoys overseen by small human crews. The goal now is to create a new family of cargo vehicles capable of carrying materiel while operating within the demands of modern warfare.

The new family of vehicles is being developed under a modernization contract, with American Rheinmetall responsible for combat vehicle integration, modular architecture, adaptable mission-kit interfaces, and mission systems engineering. Harbinger will provide its commercially derived drive-by-wire hybrid-electric vehicle chassis and advanced electrification technologies.

The aim of the project is to rapidly develop mass-producible, affordable, and attritable robotic platforms for combat, logistics, and sustainment operations. Initial efforts will focus on autonomous tactical wheeled vehicles capable of operating in combat zones before progressing to next-generation robotic platforms optimized for manned-unmanned teaming.

What all this boils down to are trucks that are very un-truck-like. They will have no cabs or manual steering and will be powered by hybrid propulsion systems. This isn't just for environmental reasons. The ability to switch to electric power will make the robotic trucks quieter and significantly reduce their heat signatures, making them far stealthier.

The hope is that such vehicles will act as force multipliers while being inexpensive enough to risk in dangerous situations, such as delivering ammunition, fuel, and rations under fire without endangering human lives. Their drive-by-wire systems and autonomous operation eliminate the need for a human operator to be anywhere near the action.

"Soldiers need robotics they can trust, at a cost that lets them field them in the numbers required to win," said Matthew Warnick, CEO of American Rheinmetall. "Harbinger's drive-by-wire, hybrid-electric platform is one of the most autonomy-ready commercial chassis ever built in the United States, and combined with American Rheinmetall's deep experience integrating mission systems for the Army, gives the DoW an attritable, sovereign, and rapidly scalable option, engineered here, built here, and ready to fight."

Source: American Rheinmetall