06 August 2021

US Army conducts first RCV-M live-fire testing

by Ashley Roque

The US Army is conducting shakedown testing with four Robotic Combat Vehicle – Medium (RCV-M) prototypes, and as part of this phase, has begun live-fire tests with the platforms' XM813 main gun and M240 machine gun.

Earlier this year, the Textron Systems, Howe & Howe Technologies, and FLIR Systems team delivered its fourth and final RCV-M prototype to the army that is based off the Ripsaw M5 and is outfitted with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace's PROTECTOR Medium Caliber Remote Weapon Station (MCT-30).

These vehicles then received government-developed autonomy software and can be paired up with modified Bradleys that are called Mission Enabler Technologies – Demonstrators (MET-Ds) for manned-unmanned teaming work, Major General Ross Coffman, the director of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team, told Janes in June prior to the test series beginning.

Towards the end of June, the service began RCV-M shakedown testing at Fort Dix, New Jersey, to include this first live-fire testing event designed to examine if the turret is properly integrated onto the vehicle. During this event, people inside the MET-D were able to ‘move, shoot, and communicate' with the RCV-M via a host of touchscreen panels and physical controls. They were also able to ‘wirelessly operate' the RCV-M weapon station to include firing the XM813 main gun and the M240 machine gun.

‘High-speed' cameras were used to look at the platform, cannon, and turret dynamics, while data collection systems located downrange were used to glean dispersion.

The US Army is conducting shakedown testing with four Robotic Combat Vehicle – Medium (RCV-M) protot...

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