Australian Army experiments with UGVs, but seeks understanding before proliferation
BAE Systems Australia converted 20 M113AS4s into Optionally Crewed Combat Vehicles for the Australian Army. (Photo: ADF)
The Australian Army is exploring the options and benefits of a wide range of UGVs.
The Australian Army is experimenting with UGVs and how they might best be employed, though none have been procured at scale yet. The Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO), created in March 2020, is in charge of the experimentation.
RICO held a Land Autonomous Systems & Teaming Demonstration (LAST-D) at Puckapunyal in September, and it illustrated some of the UGV directions that Australia is pursuing.
Platforms
Domestic designs predominated, such as the GaardTech Jaegar-C and smaller DefendTex Banshee, both of which are sacrificial UGVs. Such platforms are attritable and can carry a kinetic payload. For example, these
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