British Army orders 50 L3Harris T4 EOD robots

L3Harris will provide 50 T4 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) UGVs to the British Army with deliveries starting by the end of the year under a contract worth up to £21 million (US$26 million) with add-ons, according to a statement released by the UK MoD on 10 May.

The contract is worth at least £14.4 million and includes an initial three years of support.

According to the statement, the T4s will be mostly used in the EOD role but will also be used for dealing with hazardous materials and chemical threats.

Maj Gen Lizzie Faithfull-Davies, director land equipment at the UK’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) said the system would fulfil an important role.

“[Industry and DE&S] have identified a critical capability that can respond to hostile explosive threats and help in keeping the wider general public safe,” Gen Faithfull-Davies said.

“The T4’s will enter service with the 29 EOD & Search Group and the Diving Threat and Exploitation Group, Royal Gibraltar Regiment (RG) and Cyprus Operational Support Unit (COSU).”

The T4s are smaller than the T7s, one-third of the weight at 100kg, but also use ‘advanced haptic feedback’ which allow operators to experience resistance and a more natural feel through the controller. This supports intricate operations and more easily allows smaller and more precise movements.

The smaller size means they can operate in smaller spaces such as narrow hallways and aircraft aisles as it has a width of 44.5cm and be transported in a light-vehicle as opposed to trucks required for the T7 which can only operate in larger spaces.

This contract follows L3Harris’ successful award for T4 and T7 variants to the Australian Defence Force. Those UGVs will be delivered to Australia starting in the next two or three months as part of their Land 154 programme.

The USAF also ordered more than 100 T7 robots to support their EOD missions around the world, many of which have been delivered and are now fully operational.

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