New Tactical Experiments

The Army’s 82nd Airborne Division demonstrated arguably the most-cutting edge use of UGVs during an exercise called Panther Avalanche held in late January. While the exercise itself is a regular occurrence, the manner in which the troops incorporated UGVs into their field tactics was novel.

The troops used Overland AI’s ULTRA UGV to perform resupply missions, conduct area reconnaissance to gather intelligence, transmit signals and scout ahead of forward troops.

The vehicles were also equipped with tethered drones, effectively making them mobile watchtowers, and also executed counter-drone operations using sensors and electronic warfare systems.

“There are a lot of different ways in which you can add payloads to these types of platforms,” said Byron Boots, co-founder and CEO of Overland AI, in an interview.

“Really what that allows you to do is move those payloads on the battlefield to do things like provide layered and mobile protection, to see further, to investigate areas where you don’t want to necessarily put a warfighter.”

Boots said that cooperation with the 82nd Airborne began last November when the company embedded with the 3rd Brigade and worked together with them over a period of five months. Initially, about 30 soldiers trained over a two-day period to learn how to task and command the vehicles.

“They started by pushing supplies forward to staging areas,” Boots said. “One of the things that they were very excited about is they were able to cut the time to do that by more than half.”

Unmanned Ground Vehicles As Decoys

The division followed up initial experiments by integrating ULTRAs into their Panther Avalanche exercise. The troops used four UGVs total. Each can carry about 1,000 lbs and move in completely GPS-denied environments and without communications from operators using artificial intelligence and onboard navigation systems.

During Panther Avalanche, the 82nd Airborne deployed UGVs for the first time as decoys. Soldiers used the vehicles as distractions to draw out lurking enemy forces.

“I think this is a very natural use case for autonomous ground vehicles,” Boots explained. “That’s one of the use cases they came up with on the fly while we were down there.”

Additional Tactical Uses

In May, the Army’s 10th Mountain Division opted to incorporate the Hunter WOLF UGV manufactured by HDT Robotics into new light infantry training exercises.

The Hunter WOLF system can also carry diverse payloads, including weapons, drone systems, and logistical items for troops including water purification systems.

“Training events like this show how adaptable the Hunter WOLF’s modular design is across different mission requirements," John Conway, VP of business development for robotics at HDT, said in a statement. “Soldiers are able to configure it quickly and apply it to operational tasks without adding complexity.”

Autonomous ground vehicles also have potential to be used for one-way attacks, or as suicide drones. This has been demonstrated with both Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Unmanned Surface Vessels, also known as drone boats. Potential exists for autonomous vehicles to be used in this manner, and also to incorporate swarming technology.

Drones in the sky and at sea are currently dominating defense discussions. Military operations, however, will always see a need for boots on the ground. When it comes to navigating “the last tactical mile” to protect troops, evacuate casualties, deliver extra firepower or draw out enemy forces, Unmanned Ground Vehicles could prove to be a truly decisive factor in combat.