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Persistent Systems to Support Tomahawk Robotics in $55 Million Upgrade of Navy Robots

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

Flexible Cybersecure Radio (FlexCSR) contract will replace hundreds of legacy radios used by Navy EOD robots with MPU5 mobile ad hoc networking radios, plus NSA-certified Type 1 encryption

June 21, 2023

Persistent Systems, LLC (“Persistent”), a leader in mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) technology, announced today that it will support Tomahawk Robotics, a Florida-based developer of common control systems for unmanned systems, on a $55 million contract as it moves to production to upgrade U.S. Navy explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) robots.

The Flexible Cybersecure Radio (FlexCSR) contract, awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, will have Tomahawk Robotics replace hundreds of legacy radios used to control and communicate with Navy unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) with Persistent Systems MPU5 MANET radios that have been incorporated by Tomahawk Robotics into a solution that includes NSA Type 1 encryption.

“We are very excited to be supporting Tomahawk Robotics on this Navy contract,” said Ryan Kowalske, VP Business Development for Persistent Systems. “FlexCSR will provide Navy EOD robots with more capable and secure radios. Plus, it shows how other military robots with our MANET systems can be upgraded with Type 1 encryption, when deemed appropriate.”

In addition to being the prime contractor on FlexCSR, Tomahawk Robotics is also a member of the Wave Relay® Ecosystem, an expanding industry alliance of unmanned system, sensor and controller companies all using the Persistent Systems MANET as their default communications network.

“With the growth of the Ecosystem and contract awards like FlexCSR, we are seeing a transition to the long-envisioned networked battlefield, where people, platforms and payloads are all interconnected,” says Kowalske. “Persistent Systems is proud to be making that happen.”

Posted in Comms, Press Release, Robotics | Comments Off on Persistent Systems to Support Tomahawk Robotics in $55 Million Upgrade of Navy Robots

Milrem Robotics Led Consortium Successfully Delivers the iMUGS Project

Sunday, June 11th, 2023

The iMUGS consortium, led by Milrem Robotics and composed of several major European defence, communication and cybersecurity companies and high technology SMEs, successfully completed and delivered the project to the European Commission.

The consortium, that started work on the 32,6 MEUR integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) project in late 2020, completed all the contractual activities and tasks, reaching the operative and technical objectives in May 2023.

“This project set a great example of cooperation and high-level results which we can expect also from coming European Defence Fund Projects. On behalf of the participated Member States, I would like to thank the Coordinator, Milrem Robotics, and all the industry partners involved for making this happen,“ said Martin Jõesaar, iMUGS project officer in the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments.

“The completion of iMUGS is a huge milestone for all involved parties. It is also a testimony that cooperation within 7 European Member States and between 13 different companies and organizations, in no way a simple task, is possible when working towards a worthy goal – strengthening the defence capabilities of the Union,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.

iMUGS created a European-wide architecture for ground and aerial platforms, command, control, and communication equipment, sensors, payloads, and algorithms. The project addressed challenges for interoperability, perception, and decision-making.

Progress was shown in periodic events arranged at all participating Member States consisting of Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain. “During iMUGS the consortium demonstrated that unmanned systems play a crucial role in military environments and scenarios, paving the way for wider adoption and use of these systems in the near future,” Väärsi added.

As a result of the project and the technology developed, the European Union will have a pathway for improved ability to respond to emerging military threats and challenges. iMUGS and its envisaged follow-up and peer projects will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of EU military operations through improved coordination of multiple assets and resilient collaboration between manned units and unmanned systems benefiting from digital communications.

The systems developed will improve situational awareness, leading to faster and more accurate decision-making for increased mission success rates and increased overall safety of military operations.

“The project also improved EUs competitiveness and reputation as an expert and innovator in the field of unmanned systems,” Väärsi said.

iMUGS was a 13-party collaboration focused on developing a modular and scalable architecture for hybrid manned-unmanned systems. The parties involved are Milrem Robotics (project coordinator), Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Talgen Cybersecurity, Safran Electronics & Defense, NEXTER Systems, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Diehl Defence, Bittium, Insta Advance, SOL1, dotOcean, GMV Aerospace and Defence, and the Royal Military Academy of Belgium.

Posted in International, Press Release, Robotics | Comments Off on Milrem Robotics Led Consortium Successfully Delivers the iMUGS Project

ADS Federal Range Day 23 – FN deFNder Remote Weapon Stations

Friday, June 9th, 2023

FN Anerica demonstrated their deFNder Remote Weapon Station during last week’s ADS Federal Range Day at The Crucible south of Washington, DC.

Offered in three variants: deFNder Light seen here for the M249 and M240; deFNder Medium which will accept the M249, M2, M3R, and 40mm AGLs; and the Sea deFNder for maritime applications.

The system is modular and will accept a range of sights, accepts a link/case collector, and smoke grande launchers. It is gyro stabilized and integrates a laser range finder. Seen here is the joy stick controlled remote.

Here is a video of the M240 firing remotely.

Units and agencies can procure products seen at ADS Federal Range Day by contacting ADS, Inc.

Posted in Advertiser, Robotics, Warrior Expo, weapons | Comments Off on ADS Federal Range Day 23 – FN deFNder Remote Weapon Stations

SOF Week 23 – Roam Robotics

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Roam Robotics exhibited Forge, a pneumatically powered exoskeleton in the Darley Defense booth.

Forge has been under evaluation by the US Air Force where it’s shown to double the endurance and stregth of the wearer as well as reduce experienced g-forces by 50%. This last factor is particularly important when jumping down from heights. It preserves the natural range of motion and generates torque by forcing air through lightweight actuators at the knee to introduce torque. The brace provides stability and support to the knee.

During a recent evaluation at Wright-Patterson AFV, two C-17 Loadmasters were able to move a pallet that weighed about 3,500 pounds by themsleves, a load which normally takes four Airmen.

The modular power pack generates pressurized air for the system and can be controlled on the fly.

Posted in Advertiser, Robotics, SOF Week | 2 Comments »

SOF Week 23 – Ghost Robotics Vision QUGV-60 Complex Terrain Demo

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

I’ve heard a lot of questions about the ability of the Ghost Robotics Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Vision 60) to negotiate complex terrain like stairs. I asked the operator at SOF Week to give me a short demo of its capability.

The operator simply gave it a direction command and the Vision-60 analyzed the path with visual and force feedback cues.

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Catch Up with Ghost Robotics at SOF Week

Friday, May 5th, 2023

Fresh off of a CAPEX last week at Fort Bragg, Ghost Robotics has just participated in multiple operational scenarios for Senior Army Leaders.

Featured in this exercise were VISION 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicles controlled by special operators which provided a platform for specialized ISR capabilities.

Ghost Robotics is a manufacturer of ground robots which mimic how mammals move across urban and natural environments offering access to areas denied to other ground vehicles and even humans.

The VISION 60 is designed to accept a variety of Modular Mission Payloads like the ISR capability demonstrated during the CAPEX. It’s versatility is limited by the imagination of the user. That’s why it’s a great platform for USASOC’s robotics course which instructs students how to integrate expedient capabilities.

Visit Ghost Robotics in their demonstration area in the foyer right outside the north doors to the main floor to the expo to learn more about the VISION 60 and its inherent adaptability to mission and terrain.

www.ghostrobotics.io

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Blueye Robotics To Host Hands on Demonstration Treasure Hunt in Va Beach

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Blueye Robotics is announcing a “treasure hunt” in Virginia Beach, VA, 10:00 am- 6:00 pm local time on Friday March 24, 2023, and Saturday March 25, 2023. The goal is to enable interested end users from across the professional, commercial and private spectrum to test drive the Blueye ROVs and get some hands-on instruction directing the ROVs and managing their various payloads from members of the Blueye team. Submerged targets will be acquired using a sonar and camera under professional instruction. The Blueye Robotics systems are very easy to set up, use and maintain. Additionally, products have been donated by dive industry notables like Ares Watch Company and SCUBAPRO for active participants in the target hunts. Also, any submerged trash that is encountered during the event will count as a “find” and will be removed from the bay.

Blueye Robotics performed the blast damage survey of the Nord Stream pipeline in October 2022. This is a great opportunity to discuss the survey with members of the Blueye team who performed it as well as to handle an actual piece of the pipeline recovered during the survey.

Food and soft drinks will be provided. Come on out and get some hands-on experience with the Blueye Robotics ROV’s, do a little networking, enjoy some good food and try to find some treasure.

Wx call info: Light rain will not cancel the event; however, lightning may delay or cancel. Notification of any changes will be sent to all registrants.

Registration is required at no cost here: Event March 24: Blueye Treasure Hunt

Posted in Maritime, Robotics | Comments Off on Blueye Robotics To Host Hands on Demonstration Treasure Hunt in Va Beach

SIG SAUER Announces Purchase of Remote Weapons Station Manufacturer General Robotics

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Today SIG SAUER announced the purchase of Israeli manufacturer General Robotics. During January’s SIG Range Day in Las Vegas, they conducted a defense products demonstration featuring this new capability.

The demo featured a General Robotics Remote Weapons Station equipped Polaris All Terrain Vehicle laying down suppressive fire, outfitted with SIG’s MG 338 belt-fed machine in .338 Norma Mag.

Named the PITBULL, it is a collaboration with SIG SAUER.

Not only does it provide stabilization for more accurate long range shots, but it also allows the operator to remain under cover, observing and if needed, engaging targets without risk of injury.

PITBULL can be statically employed or mounted to land, air, and sea vehicles. It incorporates an EO/IR sensor package with auto zoom and optical focus along with an eye safe laser range finder. Additionally, there are two rear cameras for weapon and ammo management.

The brains of the system is the Remote Control Unit, a large touchscreen tablet. The system slews to items of interest via touching an area on the screen or via thumb controls. In addition to arming safeties, PITBULL features dual triggers to prevent accidental engagement. The connection is wireless with “Point to Point” secured communication.

PITBULL weighs 85Kg and is 60cm tall. It slews 360 degrees at a rate of 90 degrees per second. Elevation is approximately +60 degrees to -30 degrees depending on mounted weapon. PITBULL will accept a wide variety of machine guns besides the MG 338.

During AUSA, SIG had paired the MG 338 with an AimLock RWS, but this new business acquisition solidifies SIG’s commitment to the concept. I spoke with SIG CEO Ron Cohen about PITBULL and he was very enthusiastic about how well the system paired with the long range of the MG 338 saying, “Imagine being able to remotely and precisely engage a target a mile away from the PITBULL while you are safe inside a bunker. The MG 338 gives you the range of a .50 but with precision.”

Below is SIG SAUER’s press release regarding the acquisition.

SIG SAUER Acquires General RoboticsNEWINGTON, N.H., (March 16, 2023) – SIG SAUER is extremely excited to announce the acquisition of General Robotics, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of lightweight remote weapon stations and tactical robotics for manned and unmanned platforms and anti-drone applications.

Ron Cohen, President and CEO, SIG SAUER, Inc. began, “This acquisition will greatly enhance SIG SAUER’s growing portfolio of advanced weapon systems. The team at General Robotics is leading the way in the development of intuitive, lightweight remote weapon stations with their battle-proven solution.”

Recently, the U.S. Army selected the SIG SAUER lightweight machine gun (XM250), automatic rifle (XM7), and high-pressure hybrid ammunition for the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program, representing a historic step forward in weapons technology. The NGSW program is currently in the early stages of adoption and the U.S. Army will field the weapons at the squad level in 2023.

“The combination of the General Robotics remote weapons station with SIG SAUER’s lightweight squad weapons and high-pressure hybrid ammunition will revolutionize small arms for military forces worldwide. This acquisition exponentially increases the capabilities of our lightweight weapon systems delivering transformative advancements in mobility, greater lethality and battle tested force protection for today’s warfighters,” continued Cohen.

“General Robotics and all our employees are honored to join forces with global defense leader SIG SAUER to integrate our platforms into a single solution to support military units around the world,” concluded Shahar Gal, CEO, General Robotics.

Posted in Advertiser, Industry, Press Release, Robotics | 1 Comment »