by Tyler Barth

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Tomorrow’s battlefield is expected to pair automated vehicles and artificial intelligence with human Soldiers, and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center helping explore what that future might look like through controlled experimentation with industry partners.

Via a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with HDT Robotics, LLC, doing business as BLADE, the Armaments Center supported the successful delivery of an armed Hunter WOLF unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to the 3rd Mobile Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division for a technical demonstration. This, noted Autonomous Weapons Architectures & Controls Branch Chief Andrew Wilson, highlights both the Armaments Center’s teamwork with an established partner, expertise in its field and ability to swiftly deliver a product to the Soldier.

Originally designed for logistics and supply transport, the Hunter WOLF UGV was experimented with as an active tactical asset. It is equipped with a remotely operated .50-caliber machine gun on a wireless Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) enabling a rapid response weapons system that does not need an operator physically present and in the line of fire.

This, said the Armaments Center's Strategic Advisor to Project Acquisition Executive Layered Protection Josiah Fay, came together as a perfect storm – the 101st was “hungry for robots” for logistical matters. Separately, the Armaments Center was pre-positioned to demonstrate CROWS with wireless control ready for Soldier operation and reached out to industry.

BLADE responded and within a few weeks Soldiers were being trained on the system. BLADE provided the platform and its associated training while the Armaments Center provided its experience in weaponry, armaments integration, and lethality training to jointly provide the complete capability.

By deploying an armed, wirelessly controlled UGV, Soldiers can maintain a dominant battlefield presence while remaining safely out of harm’s way, granting commanders significant tactical flexibility. The platform’s integrated electronics significantly enhance situational awareness, battlefield planning, foresight, and mission execution, and its transport capabilities relieve Soldiers of the burdens of carrying heavy weaponry.

The 101st Airborne Division experimented with the Hunter WOLF in April at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. The Armaments Center has reached out to the division to obtain Soldier feedback and operational performance, which will allow for the center to improve its future performance.

According to Fay, the Armaments Center continues its efforts to reduce Soldier cognitive load by adding autonomous features while ensuring combatants remain on the loop, rather than in the loop. Though such weaponry can remain effective even without a Soldier physically piloting it, a Soldier is still fully preoccupied staring at the screen with today’s technology. By moving them on the loop instead, a Soldier is less likely to suffer from cognitive overload and may instead take more of a supervisory role over partially automated weapons systems, increasing their effective combat power and area of influence while retaining positive control of lethal decisions.