“In today’s conflicts, the frontlines have been blurred and troops carrying out logistics missions are exposed to improvised explosive devices and other lethal threats previously reserved for battle zones,” said U.S. Army Major General (Retired), John Urias, executive vice president, Oshkosh Corporation and president, Oshkosh Defense. “The Oshkosh TerraMax UGV has the potential to reduce troops’ exposure to these threats, while optimizing the number of troops needed for such operations.”

The Oshkosh TerraMax UGV enables military leaders to remove personnel from leader and/or follower vehicles traveling high risk routes and provides greater standoff distance from explosive threats. TerraMax UGV technology can readily adapt to account for mine rollers, ground penetrating radar, and other emerging systems used for the detection, disruption and pre-detonation of explosive hazards.

“Vehicles equipped with TerraMax UGV can be used in concert with manned vehicles for a spectrum of operations including logistics convoys, route clearance and counter-IED missions, airfield construction and support, and more,” said Urias. “This technology allows vehicles to operate for extended periods of time through challenging terrain, dust, darkness, rain, snow and other adverse conditions without the fatigue or loss of awareness that can afflict human operators. This capability really forces us to think differently about how we conduct certain ground operations.”

Oshkosh is conducting its TerraMax UGV product development independently and also in collaboration with the U.S. Marine Corps and Army to identify opportunities to use UGVs for route reconnaissance and route clearance missions. These current projects build upon previous contracts with the U.S. Office of Naval Research for the Cargo UGV Project, which focused on bringing UGV capabilities to logistics convoy missions and reducing troops’ exposure to threats.