What will the US Army’s RCVs-Light feature?
Textron RIPSAW M3 is among the designs selected by the US Army. (Photo: Textron Defense)
Modularity, open systems architecture, transportability, advanced technology and growth potential are among the main US Army requirements to select the designs of four companies as part of the Robotic Combat Vehicle-Light (RCV-Light) Middle Tier Acquisition – Rapid Prototyping programme capability.
The RCV-Light is intended to deliver increased situational awareness, lethality and tactical options for army formations in support of multi-domain operations. Its operators will remotely control the platforms or task them to operate semi-autonomously.
The service has recently awarded $24.72 million in Other Transaction Agreements (OTA) to Textron Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), Oshkosh Defense and McQ. Under the RCV-Light Phase I, the suppliers will each provide two platform prototypes by August 2024.
Textron’s design is based on the RIPSAW M3 robotic vehicle technology demonstrator, which was unveiled in the AUSA 2022 exhibition.
Speaking to Shephard, David
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