Cubic tailors mortar simulator for the US Army
The company’s mortar trainer received improvements based on soldier’s feedback.
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions' Micro Systems has converted a Russian T-72 tank to operate in an unmanned configuration, the company announced on 13 April.
Micro Systems converted the T-72 in response to a US Army need for a tank target for training purposes. The conversion allows the tank to be controlled by the Army Ground Aerial Target Control System (AGATCS) - a vehicle and datalink agnostic control system that has been interfaced to a wide variety of US Army air, ground, and sea surface target vehicles.
A number of challenges needed to be overcome for the conversion: the dual tiller steering system required high levels of force and displacement; and the operating environment was harsh, with high levels of vibration, temperature, and dust. Remote control was facilitated by the ability of AGATCS to control a wide variety of vehicles with highly disparate control requirements.
Kevin Ferguson, senior vice president of Kratos Micro Systems, said: 'Micro Systems is proud to support the US Army's targets management office with new capabilities to provide highly threat representative target vehicles to support their efforts to develop capabilities to keep our homeland and warriors safe.'
The company’s mortar trainer received improvements based on soldier’s feedback.
The company will operate in two new locations in the coming years to better support US services.
This type of tool provides more realistic training easing the incorporation of new scenarios that accurately represent the threats of the battlefield.
The Engineering Corps has been conducting individual instruction using FLAIM Systems’ Sweeper and should start collective deployments in 2025.
The next-generation platform is motion-compatible and can be used in OTW and NVG applications.
The system can be used to prepare soldiers for both drone offensive operations and CUAS missions.