The United States Army has begun testing a new autonomous version of the AMPV (Armored Multi Purpose Vehicle) armored vehicle, expanding efforts to integrate driverless technologies into military ground vehicles.
According to Defence Blog, the upgrade was developed by BAE Systems in partnership with Forterra. It focuses on the drive-by-wire transmission kit from RENK America, which serves as the hardware interface allowing Forterra’s AutoDrive autonomous driving software to control the vehicle without a human operator at the controls.
“We are focused on delivering capabilities that work in the real world. Leveraging systems that are already operational and trusted is the way to accelerate development without taking unnecessary risks,” said Corey Johnson, CEO of RENK America.
The AMPV, built by BAE Systems, is the primary replacement for the older M113 armored vehicles and was developed for troop transport, medical evacuation, command, and battlefield logistics support missions.
With the new autonomy kit, it becomes capable of navigating without a driver in complex environments. The goal is to allow military vehicles to carry out dangerous missions with reduced direct exposure of soldiers to combat, especially in logistics and advanced support operations, according to Defence Blog.
The U.S. Army has been accelerating programs related to autonomous vehicles following lessons observed in recent conflicts, especially in Ukraine, where drones and unmanned systems have taken on an increasingly important role in modern military operations.
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Photo: BAE Systems. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
