BAE Systems pitches ground robot to drone-hungry Australian Army

MELBOURNE — As the Australian Army reconfigures itself to incorporate unmanned ground vehicles, vendor BAE Systems senses an opening for its new ATLAS 8x8 vehicle.

The name is short for Autonomous Tactical Light Armour System, and company executives unveiled a “collaborative combat” version of the vehicle at the Land Forces 2024 exhibition here earlier this month.

The show ride was armed with a Bushmaster 25mm cannon, but other possibilities include larger-caliber weapons, mortars, antitank guided missiles, loitering munition launchers and surveillance sensors, according to the firm

To evaluate new technologies such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), drones, robotics and counter-drone systems, the Australian Army is converting the Adelaide-based 1st Armoured Regiment into a test and experimental unit.

Lt. Col. Jake Penley, its commanding officer, told Defense News that the unit will hand in its M1A1 Abrams tanks later this year, before achieving an initial operational capability in the experimentation mission on Feb. 1, 2025.

Penley said of his unit’s new role: “The ability to get high-end emerging technology in the hands of soldiers sooner in an experimentation role means we can verify and validate those platforms quickly and get them out to combat units.”

The unit is already evaluating optionally manned M113 tracked vehicles, after BAE Systems Australia converted 20 vehicles. “They’re really beneficial,” Penley said, and the regiment’s armor expertise means they know how to maintain them.

BAE Systems is currently talking to the Army about upgrading these optionally manned M113s with more advanced sensors and software from the ATLAS project.

The 10-ton-class combat ATLAS – slightly smaller than LAV-25 8x8 armored vehicles used by the Australian Army and U.S. Marine Corps – can perform advanced reconnaissance, armored overwatch, flank protection and convoy escort missions.

Paul Finch, Project Manager Land Autonomy at BAE Systems Australia, told Defense News that the ATLAS employs a Supacat HMT Extenda chassis and drive module, plus a Vantage unmanned turret from Slovenian company Valhalla Turrets.

With a residual 6-ton payload capacity, it can fit inside a 20-foot standard shipping container. This opens up numerous transportation options by road, train and ship, while six ATLAS vehicles fit inside a C-17 aircraft.

Finch said the prototype was completed in July following a contract award to Supacat in June 2023. He said the vehicle is around 90% complete, with work still to be done to qualify subsystems and to train its software.

The ATLAS is competing against mostly tracked platforms in this medium-sized UGV category, but its wheeled configuration brings advantages in terms of road mobility.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

墨尔本——随着澳大利亚陆军进行重组以纳入无人地面车辆，供应商 BAE 系统公司看到了其新型 ATLAS 8x8 车辆的市场机会。

该名称是“自主战术轻型装甲系统”的缩写，公司高管在本月初于此地举行的 2024 年陆军展览会上推出了该车辆的“协同作战”版本。

据该公司称，该展示车配备了一门25毫米“大毒蛇”火炮，但其他可能的武器包括更大口径的武器、迫击炮、反坦克导弹、巡飞弹发射器和监视传感器。

为了评估无人地面车辆 (UGV)、无人机、机器人和反无人机系统等新技术，澳大利亚陆军正在将驻扎在阿德莱德的第一装甲团改造成一个测试和实验单位。

该部队指挥官杰克·彭利中校告诉《防务新闻》，该部队将于今年晚些时候交出其 M1A1 艾布拉姆斯坦克，然后在 2025 年 2 月 1 日的试验任务中实现初步作战能力。

彭利谈到他所在部队的新角色时说：“能够更快地将高端新兴技术以实验的方式交付给士兵，意味着我们可以快速验证和确认这些平台，并将它们交付给作战部队。”

该部队目前正在评估可选载人的M113履带式车辆，此前BAE系统澳大利亚公司已改装了20辆该型车辆。“它们确实非常有用，”彭利说，而且该团拥有装甲方面的专业技术，这意味着他们知道如何维护这些车辆。

BAE系统公司目前正在与陆军洽谈，希望利用ATLAS项目中的更先进的传感器和软件来升级这些可选有人驾驶的M113装甲车。

10吨级的ATLAS战斗装甲车——比澳大利亚陆军和美国海军陆战队使用的LAV-25 8x8装甲车略小——可以执行高级侦察、装甲警戒、侧翼保护和车队护送任务。

BAE Systems Australia 的陆地自主项目经理 Paul Finch 告诉《防务新闻》，ATLAS 采用了 Supacat HMT Extenda 底盘和驱动模块，以及来自斯洛文尼亚 Valhalla Turrets 公司的 Vantage 无人炮塔。

该车辆剩余有效载荷为6吨，可装入一个20英尺标准集装箱。这为其提供了多种公路、铁路和海运运输选择，同时六辆ATLAS车辆可装入一架C-17运输机。

芬奇表示，原型车于7月完成，此前Supacat公司于2023年6月获得了合同。他说，该车辆已完成约90%，但仍需进行子系统鉴定和软件培训工作。

ATLAS 在这个中型无人地面车辆类别中主要与履带式平台竞争，但其轮式配置在公路机动性方面具有优势。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。