9 novembre 2020 | International, Terrestre
COLOGNE, Germany — Italy has become the latest country to show interest in Estonian robotics firm Milrem's THeMIS ground vehicle, as nations across Europe continue to actively pursue the unmanned systems.
A photo distributed by Milrem shows the vehicle at an Italian Army base near Rome last month with its cargo hold folded wide open and the contents — a small surveillance drone made by Estonia's Threod Systems — hovering above.
The THeMIS vehicle, which is short for Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System, is configurable for logistics, combat, reconnaissance or explosive ordnance disposal. In its basic version, it looks something like a cabriolet tank, roughly waist-high and piano-wide.
The various combat setups include weaponry such as guns, anti-tank missiles or launchers for suicide drones mounted on top, according to Milrem's website. The company doesn't make its own arms, a spokesman told Defense News, but rather integrates weapons from other manufacturers.
“Pulling the trigger is always done by the human,” the spokesman said when asked about the vehicle's level of autonomy, adding that all weapon add-ons by third-party vendors are expected to abide by that rule.
The demonstration in Italy follows a string of recent announcements by armed forces in Europe and elsewhere using the THeMIS platform for testing or operations.
This spring, the Estonian Defence Forces, or EDF, completed a yearlong deployment with the vehicle during the French-led Barkhane counterterrorism mission in Mali. The vehicle accompanied soldiers on patrol and ferried supplies around the base.
“We collected a lot of valuable data and feedback during the deployment and although EDF's experience with the THeMIS was positive, there is always room for improvement,” Kuldar Vaarsi, CEO of Milrem, was quoted as saying in a statement. “However, after this experience in Mali, we are confident that the THeMIS is more than capable of supporting operations in extremely hot climates."
The company previously said it was preparing to support another deployment with the country's forces at the end of 2020.
In September, the Netherlands signed a joined procurement agreement with the Estonian government to buy seven THeMIS vehicles from Milrem — four for the Royal Netherlands Army and three for Estonian forces.
For the Dutch, the purchase brings its inventory of the ground robots to six, with the two bought in 2019.
“So far, the THeMIS has successfully been used for research and experiments by operational units of the 13 Light Brigade in Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands and during a live fire exercise in Austria,” Lt. Col. Martijn Hadicke of the Royal Netherlands Army was quoted as saying in a company statement. “The addition of four extra THeMIS vehicles with a Remote Controlled Weapon System that is operated by a soldier provides us the opportunity to continue to develop concepts to enhance the combat power and decrease the risk for our soldiers.”
Along with the most recent outreach to Italian forces, Milrem rolled out what it dubs the Intelligent Systems Implementation Analysis and Assessment program, a three-step process designed to offer governments new capability ideas for their military robotic needs.
The program “provides armed forces support from initial planning to full implementation and post implementation analyses of intelligent and robotic systems with (NATO standard) concept development and experimentation methodologies,” according to Juri Pajuste, a retired Estonian military officer who now leads Milrem's defense research and development efforts.
The company is already sitting pretty when it comes to charting a course for robotic ground vehicles under the auspices of the European Union. Milrem has positioned its THeMIS vehicle as the reference platform in a multinational program aimed at developing a common design architecture underpinning future developments in the growth market.
25 août 2021 | International, Aérospatial
After a shoot-off in the New Mexico desert, the Army has made its choice on who will build prototypes for its enduring Indirect Fires Protection Capability.
12 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Pascal Samama Le 12/01/2021 à 15:08 Les armées commandent des centaines de micro-drones au fabricant français Parrot. La DGA a passé une première commande de 300 micro-drones qui seront livrés en juin prochain. C'est finalement Parrot qui fournira aux trois armées (terre, air, mer) des micro-drones de reconnaissance et de surveillance. La DGA (direction général de l'armement) vient d'annoncer qu'elle a sélectionné le modèle Anafi. Conçu en France, il est fabriqué aux Etats-Unis, mais "aucun composant ne provient de Chine", précise Parrot dans un communiqué. Parrot est une société historique de la French Tech. Elle a été fondé en 1994 par Henri Seydoux. Parrot est aujourd'hui le premier groupe de drone Européen. Une première commande de 300 appareils a été passée et seront livrés dès le mois de juin. Le contrat, qui comprend aussi des équipements complémentaires et la formation de pilotes, s'étend sur 5 ans a indiqué le ministère des Armées sans préciser le nombre total de la commande, ni le nombre de livraison annuelle, ni le montant du contrat. Il a seulement précisé que 60% de la commande ira à l'armée de Terre, 28% pour la Marine nationale et 12% pour l'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace. Un véritable espion volant L'Anafi ne pèse que 500 grammes ce qui permet de le transporter facilement dans un paquetage. Il est équipé de deux caméras 4K de 21 mégapixels avec un zoom 32x. Cette puissance optique lui permet de détecter de jour comme de nuit des cibles de taille humaine jusqu'à deux kilomètres de distance. Son point fort est aussi la sécurité des informations recueillies et de la liaison. Une signature numérique protège son logiciel de modification malveillante. De plus, l'enregistrement est réalisé au sol par une connexion sécurisée. Le drone permet d'enregistrer les données de la mission uniquement sur le segment sol, et non dans le vecteur aérien, puis de les extraire pour analyse, par connexion physique. Le drone dispose d'une connexion WPA2 sécurisée et de protocoles ouverts qui garantissent la confiance dans l'interopérabilité des données enregistrées pour des missions sensibles. https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/parrot-equipera-l-armee-francaise-de-ses-micro-drones-de-reconnaissance-et-de-renseignements_AN-202101120234.html
9 novembre 2020 | International, Terrestre
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has been chosen to build the U.S. Army's new mid-range missile prototype, landing a nearly $340 million contract to take elements from naval missiles to forge the new weapon, the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office announced Nov. 6. Through an other transaction authority agreement, Lockheed will take the Navy's Raytheon-built SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles to put together a Mid-Range Capability, or MRC, prototype that consists of launchers, missiles and a battery operations center, according to an RCCTO statement. A variant of the Tomahawk missile was used in a land-based cruise missile capability test last year. The SM-6 is a long-range, anti-air missile that has a surface mode. This mid-range missile — expected to hit targets at distances beyond 500 kilometers — is to be fielded to an operational battery in fiscal 2023. Defense News first broke the news that the Army was planning to field a mid-range missile capability designed to go after moving targets at land and at sea. The effort is meant to fill a gap in the service's long-range precision fires portfolio in between the future Precision Strike Missile and hypersonic weapons capabilities. The decision came out of a strategic fires study conducted earlier this year that identified the capability gap and the need to rapidly fill it. The RCCTO shortly after adopted the effort to rapidly field the new missile. “Adapting existing systems as much as possible will allow us to move faster than traditional acquisition methods to get this capability into the hands of Soldiers in support of the National Defense Strategy,” Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space and rapid acquisition as well as the RCCTO chief, said in the statement. “Soldier feedback and touchpoints will be embedded throughout the prototyping effort in order to make this system operationally effective the day it is delivered,” he added. To meet the demanding timeline, the MRC prototype “will utilize and modify existing hardware and software from the Army and joint service partners and integrate additional technologies to achieve new operational effects,” the statement read. The Army arrived at the decision to incorporate the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles after a “broad review of joint service technologies potentially applicable to MRC,” according to the RCCTO. To use the joint service technologies, the Army “will leverage Navy contract vehicles for missile procurement in support of the Army integration [other transaction authority] agreement,” the statement said. “The capability also allows the Army and joint services to synchronize and leverage modernization efforts and investments across mid-range missile programs in support of multi-domain operations,” it added. “The MRC supports one of the Army's chief roles in multi-domain operations: to use strategic fires to penetrate and disintegrate enemy layered defense systems, creating windows of opportunity for exploitation by the joint force.” By 2023, the Army will have begun delivering a portfolio of strategic, mid-range and short-range fires capabilities that will change the paradigm against advanced adversaries Russia and China. The initial fielding of the Precision Strike Missile, capable of hitting targets out to 499 kilometers (with a likelihood of a greater range), will happen in 2023 as well as a ground-launched hypersonic missile. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/11/06/lockheed-martin-to-build-mid-range-missile-prototype-for-us-army