At Eurosatory 2024, held in Paris from 17 to 21 June, Pearson Engineering released its latest development to provide combat engineering capability to uncrewed vehicles, including robotic combat vehicles (RCVs), by unveiling its RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching mission payload.
The move follows the launch of the RCV-Pioneer Urban Obstacle Clearance Mission Payload at the DSEI show in London in September 2023, which has since been proven during trials in the United States.
A key attribute of the RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching mission payload is that, given that it is designed for unmanned vehicles where a crew is not put in harm’s way, it can feature a dragged full-width mine plough to the rear of the vehicle as well as two track-width plough blades at the front. The use of a dragged mine plough is not only more effective for mine clearance, but means that a lighter vehicle with a lower tractive capability than traditional armoured engineer vehicles can be used. This leverages technical detail from Pearson Engineering’s VECTOR in-service track width mine plough, which was designed to maximise ploughing capability on lightweight vehicles.
The RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching payload is designed to be applicable to RCVs such as the General Dynamics Land Systems TRX RCV, which first used Pearson’s Urban Obstacle Clearance mission payload at the US Army’s Maneuver Support Protection Integration Experiment (MSSPIX) at Fort Leonard in 2021.
The plough sections of the RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching payload are arranged around a free-standing and intelligent mission payload frame that enables rapid docking with the chosen uncrewed vehicle. Adjustable jacks lower the frame onto the vehicle before locks secure the payload and vehicle together. In keeping with Pearson Engineering’s scalable approach, mission payloads can be interchanged by using the system’s same features to unlock the frame from the vehicle and to lift it to allow the vehicle to drive to another payload where the process can be repeated by the same commander using the same controls.
Pearson Engineering has designed a customisable operator control unit (OCU) with a real-time digital twin visualisation to shorten training and mission times. The OCU is used to teleoperate the RCV-Pioneer modular mission payloads and is compatible with multiple payloads. The OCU includes an embedded video screen to enable beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) control and is designed to meet current military standards for performance and safety.
Along with the urban obstacle clearance mission payload, The minefield breaching payload is part of a range of envisaged RCV-Pioneer payloads designed to give unmanned ground vehicles engineering capabilities on a modern battlefield increasingly characterised by robotic systems. Other mission payloads, for example, would cover counter-mobility missions, fascine launching, route proving and assault gap crossing.
The minefield breaching mission payload was prioritised to respond to an increase in demand, driven by the proliferation of anti-tank mines in Ukraine and the threat posed to soldiers. Trial plans with several NATO nations are already in development for the autumn of 2024, according to Pearson Engineering.
