Army Preparing to Field New Unmanned Ground Systems.

• Author: Lee, Connie

The Army's push to upgrade its ground robotics fleet is coming to fruition, according to the service.

Over the next 18 months, the Army plans to field four major platforms, Bryan McVeigh, project manager for force projection at the program executive office for combat support and combat service support, noted in an interview with National Defense.

The common robotic system-individual (CRS(I)), man transportable robotic system increment 2 and the common robotic system-heavy, will make up a new family of explosive ordnance disposal robots with the same interoperability profile. Another system, the squad multipurpose equipment transport, is designed to haul equipment for dismounted soldiers.

The service has been utilizing other transaction authority agreements for its robotics initiatives to allow for prototype competitions before awarding production contracts, McVeigh said. The expanded use of OTAs was authorized in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, and are a way to cut through bureaucratic red tape.

Additionally, the Army is examining its strategy for purchasing small robots, he said. Although the chassis of robotic systems are sustainable for about five to 10 years, a technology refresh is required about every five years. Because of this, the service is considering whether it should purchase fewer systems more often, he noted.

QinetiQ North America won a production contract for the common robotic system-individual, or CRS(I), in March. The production award was valued up to $152 million, according to a news release.

QinetiQ competed against FLIR Systems Inc., which was known as Endeavor Robotics at the time. Endeavor was acquired by FLIR in March.

Last year, QinetiQ and Endeavor were awarded engineering, manufacturing and development contracts for CRS(I). The Army downselected to one vendor after a competitive run-off test at Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland in October. The system is scheduled to be fielded by the second quarter of fiscal year 2020, McVeigh said.

Described by the service as a "remotely operated, highly mobile, unmanned ground vehicle that is light enough for a dismounted soldier to carry in a backpack," the CRS(I) weighs less than 25 pounds and is the service's smallest upcoming ground robot.

Dan Deguire, vice president of land systems at QinetiQ North America, said the company's platform--which is known as the squad packable utility robot (SPUR)--is "a clean sheet of paper design to address current user needs and...