Rheinmetall has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract on behalf of the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) for autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), the company announced on 8 April 2024.
Under the contract the company will deliver three Mission Master SP UGVs to Japan in January 2025 for testing. The vehicles will each be equipped with different payload modules, including cargo, surveillance and remote-controlled weapon station modules. The contract also includes a long-term support and training programme, as well as spare parts.
The UGVs will be delivered by Rheinmetall in collaboration with the programme’s prime contractor, Marubeni Aerospace, which is a major Japanese business conglomerate that will be trained by Rheinmetall to offer local support to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
Rheinmetall’s Mission Master SP is a fully electric, compact UGV that is designed to autonomously carry out missions such as forward and last-mile resupply, silent watch operations, and carriages of light payloads, including section sensors and weapon systems. The vehicle can be towed or deployed by parachute to carry out missions in hard-to-reach terrain. While normally an 8×8 vehicle, the Mission Master SP can be fitted with tracks to enhance mobility in deep snow and mud, which is considered optimal for countries with extreme climates such as Japan.
Like other platforms in the Rheinmetall Mission Master family, the SP vehicle is driven by Rheinmetall PATH: an AI-powered navigation system that can be installed on any vehicle. This agnostic suite of advanced sensors and perception algorithms enables the Mission Master vehicles to navigate autonomously through challenging environments.
The Mission Master SP was the first UGV to be developed by Rheinmetall Canada in 2017 and has since been deployed during multiple live military exercises by various land forces, including the German, US, Dutch and Polish armies. Various NATO partners, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, have also acquired the Mission Master SP.
