At the end of September, and for the first time, Rheinmetall took part in ELROB with its unmanned multi-mission “Mission Master” vehicle. At Europe’s largest exhibition for military ground robotics, Rheinmetall’s Mission Master team entered the fray, taking on a number of competing teams. Made by Rheinmetall Canada, the cargo version of this versatile vehicle turned in a particularly compelling performance in the “Mule” category.
In all, six teams took part in this competition category. Mules are essentially automated pack animals – autonomous transport vehicles capable of carrying heavy loads and equipment. They had to handle two scenarios. The teams each had thirty minutes to cover a 1,400 m-long route with their mule. During the first run, Rheinmetall impressed the crowd with an impressive performance. Then, following the second, came the gratifying result; despite competing for the first time, the Rheinmetall Mission Master clearly dominated the contest, scoring 3,151 points, twice as many as the robotic vehicle that took second place (1,547 points), and way ahead of the one that came in third (167 points).
The Mission Master: modular, adaptable, flexible – a combat effectiveness multiplier for soldier systems
The cargo version of the Mission Master was exhibited to a large group of defence specialists for the first time at Eurosatory 2018. Rheinmetall developed this variant to reduce the combat load carried by troops in the field, contributing to faster movement and greater operational efficiency. Rheinmetall’s new robotic vehicle can operate in hazardous, difficult-to-reach terrain, in turn contributing to the survivability and protection of troops deployed in harm’s way.
Moreover, the Mission Master can be networked with advanced soldier systems such as Future Soldier – Expanded System, Gladius 2.0 or Argus. In Rheinmetall’s “System Infanterie”, the Mission Master serves as a force multiplier for infantry sections or squads equipped with Rheinmetall’s Future Soldier – Expanded System technology. Fully networked with dismounted combat troops, it not only takes a weight not only off the soldiers’ shoulders, it also relieves the pressure on military leaders.
Characterized by extreme flexibility, the Rheinmetall Mission Master can be quickly configured for a multitude of different missions thanks to modular, easy-to-install build-ons. Its mission capabilities include logistics, surveillance, force protection, evacuation of wounded personnel, firefighting and CBRN reconnaissance. It can also serve as a radio relay station. Speed, scalable autonomy and proven mobility in all types of terrain make the Mission Master a strong and dependable comrade for small combat units.
Tags: Rheinmetall
Great story. This is definitely the future for dismounted infantry as the load gets heavier and commanders fail to accept risk and lighten the load. (E.G. putting ALL soldiers in Michelin Man mode for all missions outside the wire isn’t facilitating tactical mobility) We’ve been playing with this concept since the early 00’s during FCS.
I would have really appreciated why this system did so much better than others and who those others were. I’ve seen several versions of this concept at Maneuver Conferences at Benning e.g. General Dynamics, BAE etc.
What I’m assuming is it was faster and easier to change “build-ons”. The tethering sounds awesome but a lot of competitive systems allow that. Appreciate any clarity you can offer.