Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV)
Abstract
The Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) has transitioned from a family of light, medium, and heavy variants to a single vehicle approach with a common chassis. The Army has decided to field a common platform that will pair elements of the previous RCV medium concept with the RCV common chassis. The development programs, which include a RCV Middle-Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping (MTA-RP) and a RCV Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP) program, will produce unmanned ground combat vehicle prototypes to inform Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) maturation, Capabilities Development Document (CDD) development, acquisition and integration of secure advanced autonomy and artificial intelligence algorithms, force design updates, robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) doctrine development, and follow-on production and fielding decisions. The RCV program will enhance the Human Machine Integration (HMI) effort by soliciting early Soldier feedback to reduce risk to the MTA-RP and SWP acquisition pathways. The RCV MTA-RP program will perform three complementary lines of effort (LOE): 1) Surrogate Prototypes (SP); 2) Full System Prototypes (FSP); 3) and Manned Control Vehicles (MCV), while leveraging the software developed in the SWP to perform incremental capability releases. The RCV SP LOE utilizes RCV experimental prototypes and new build SP vehicles in an iterative design-upgrade-test approach that includes integration of software updates from the RCV SWP and follow-on Capability Releases (CR) from the RCV SWP. The SP LOE includes recurring design-upgrade-test cycles from FY 2023-2024 that conclude with FORSCOM operational pilots to collect Soldier feedback and demonstrate improved capabilities related to demonstrate improved capabilities to sensors, autonomous software, system safety, control architecture, and network resiliency. Each design-upgrade-test cycle will culminate in a Knowledge Point (KP) to review program progress and determine SP architectures or capabilities ready for incorporation into the FSP LOE. The SP LOE will also serve to validate user requirements, assist in finalization of the RCV Capabilities Development Document (CDD) and inform DOTMLPF-P and force design considerations. The RCV FSP LOE will leverage mature capabilities from previous RCV experimentation and SP development efforts and integrate additional embedded software, perception sensors, user control interfaces, and communication links that will permit autonomous movement, tele-op movement, and increased battlefield situational awareness. The FSP acquisition strategy includes a robust competition through Other Transaction Authority (OTA) that selected four vendors to deliver platform prototypes to inform down select to a single vendor for prototype build. Developmental testing of prototypes will include safety, Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM), lethality, survivability, and Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) testing. Additionally, Operational Testing (OT) in the form of Prototype Operational Demonstration (POD) will be executed to evaluate system suitability and effectiveness. The MCV focuses on Control Station hardware and Human Systems Integration into host platforms for RCV operations. The RCV SWP focuses on embedded software development and sustainment activities including RCV autonomy software, control station software, and payload control software. A system integration laboratory (SIL) will be used in conjunction with RCV systems to verify and validate software capabilities in both virtual and live test environments. The RCV SWP will provide software capabilities to the SP and FSP LOEs for integration. The RCV SWP will incorporate Soldier and integrator feedback into product roadmaps to guide the development and maturation of critical software capabilities. The Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) development program directly aligns with the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) Army Modernization Priority and includes the RCV Middle-Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping and a RCV Software Pathway. The projected total cost of the RCV MTA Rapid Prototyping program is $497.81 million (then-year dollars) RDT&E from FY 2022 to FY 2027. The remainder of the RCV MTA Rapid Prototyping program is fully funded across the Future Years Defense Program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2025
- Source ID
- 0604641A_5_2040_PB_2025
- Change Summary Explanation
- Decreased funding associated with a reduction of planned activities for FY25 RCV Surrogate Prototypes FORSCOM Operational Pilot.
- Service Agency Name
- Army
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army
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