Articles
Lockheed Martin has teamed-up manned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles in what it is calling the world's first fully autonomous military mission.
Working with the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) at Fort Benning, Georgia, engineers used a K-Max unmanned helicopter to move a Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) unmanned ground vehicle into a simulated mission area, where soldiers were defending a village. The SMSS was tasked with a mission to resupply the soldiers.
After resupplying the soldiers, the SMSS travelled autonomously to an observation point where it could use its “Gyrocam”, a sensor systems developed by Lockheed, to scan for enemy forces.
In an actual mission, a remote operator would then notify the commander on the ground, who would assess the threat and determine the appropriate method of neutralising it, said Lockheed.
The Gyrocam is a mid-wave surveillance sensor that provides constant video surveillance, including while in flight. The elevated system scans for threats and provides geo-location coordinates of hostile personnel.
The vehicles were equipped with a combination of mobile satellite communications systems (Satcom) amd local line-of-sight communications systems. A remote operations center equipped with Satcom controlled and monitored the vehicles' activities throughout the demonstration.
Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said: “These missions are not only possible, but can be available much sooner than you would expect. Fully autonomous capabilities will allow service members to focus on important missions and remain out of harm's way.”
Dr. Paul Rogers, director of TARDEC, said: "The synergistic use of unmanned air and ground vehicles will give warfighters a larger operational reach, and allow execution of missions that are currently performed at great risk to the warfighter,"
Unmanned K-Max helicopters have been used to deliver cargo to US Marines during real life “in theatre” missions since 2011. The aircraft is outfitted with systems and sensors that enable remote operation and can lift up to 6,000 pounds of cargo at sea level
Dan Spoor, vice president of Aviation and Unmanned Systems at Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems and Training business, said: "There is significant potential for these types of systems for humanitarian aid, the civilian oil and gas industry, firefighting and for other military applications."