Rheinmetall Canada, Elistair pair robots and drones in test for Europe

WASHINGTON — European military officials witnessed how an intelligence-collecting drone can work with an unmanned ground vehicle to perform reconnaissance and escort tasks thought critical to success in future fights.

Defense companies Elistair and Rheinmetall Canada on Jan. 16 announced the successful demonstration of their paired Khronos drone and Mission Master SP robot before the cadre of officials at a test track in Quebec. The companies did not disclose a detailed list of attendees.

Militaries the world over are increasingly interested in developing and deploying remotely guided or autonomous systems; machines can keep humans out of harm’s way, augment already precious manpower and work around the clock in unpleasant conditions. Elistair’s Khronos deploys from a small box and can stay aloft for 24 hours while tethered to a moving object, and Rheinmetall’s eight-wheeled Mission Master SP is capable of following troops and shuttling smaller items such as sensors and weapons.

“The Mission Master family of UGVs can carry a variety of ISR payloads ,” Alain Tremblay, the vice president of business development and innovation at Rheinmetall Canada, said in a statement. “But Khronos definitely has its advantages, and we see international interest given its innovative capacity to adapt to current and future complex theaters of operation.”

The two companies plan to market the combination of autonomous drone and ground vehicle to “military customers,” according to their announcement. Both have experience in North America and Europe.

Rheinmetall is the 19th largest defense contractor in the world when ranked by defense-related revenue, according to Defense News Top 100 analysis . It earned $5 billion in 2022 and $4.7 billion in 2021.

Dardily, France-based Elistair is much smaller. Its chief executive, Guilhem de Marliave, in a statement said it was exciting to collaborate with a major defense contractor and sync unmanned technologies.

Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.

华盛顿——欧洲军方官员亲眼目睹了情报收集无人机如何与无人地面车辆协同作战，执行侦察和护送任务，这些任务被认为对未来战争的成功至关重要。

1月16日，国防企业Elistair和莱茵金属加拿大公司宣布，在魁北克省的一个测试跑道上，他们成功地向一批官员演示了其联合研制的Khronos无人机和Mission Master SP机器人。两家公司没有透露与会人员的详细名单。

世界各国军队对研发和部署远程制导或自主系统越来越感兴趣；机器可以保护人类免受伤害，增强本已宝贵的人力，并在恶劣环境下全天候工作。Elistair公司的Khronos无人机可以从一个小箱子中展开，系绳连接到移动物体上后可以持续飞行24小时；莱茵金属公司的八轮Mission Master SP无人机能够跟随部队，并运送传感器和武器等小型物品。

莱茵金属加拿大公司业务发展与创新副总裁阿兰·特伦布莱在一份声明中表示：“Mission Master系列无人地面车辆可以携带多种情报、监视与侦察（ISR）有效载荷。但Khronos无疑具有其优势，鉴于其创新能力能够适应当前和未来复杂的作战环境，我们看到了国际社会的浓厚兴趣。”

两家公司在公告中表示，计划将自主无人机和地面车辆的组合产品推向“军方客户”。两家公司在北美和欧洲均拥有相关经验。

根据《防务新闻》百强榜单的分析，莱茵金属公司按国防相关收入排名，是全球第19大国防承包商。该公司2022年收入为50亿美元，2021年收入为47亿美元。

总部位于法国达尔迪利的埃利斯泰尔公司规模要小得多。其首席执行官吉列姆·德·马利亚夫在一份声明中表示，能够与一家大型国防承包商合作并同步发展无人技术，令人兴奋不已。

科林·德马雷斯特曾是C4ISRNET的记者，负责报道军事网络、网络安全和信息技术方面的新闻。此前，他曾为南卡罗来纳州的一家日报报道美国能源部及其下属的国家核安全管理局，主要关注冷战后的清理工作和核武器研发。科林还是一位屡获殊荣的摄影师。