British Ministry of Defense invests £9 million to accelerate autonomous capability of its army.

According to information released by the British Ministry of Defense on January 25, 2022, three companies have won contracts worth £3 million each to accelerate the autonomous capability of the British army that could be used to safely deliver mission-critical supplies to troops engaged in combat territory known as the ‘last mile’.
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Mira UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicle. (Picture source British MoD)

The British Army tasked the Future Capability Group (FCG) at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the procurement arm of the MOD, with investigating potential solutions for autonomous last-mile supply’ - the delivery of combat supplies crucial to operational success in combat zones. This work followed a successful first stage investigation by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

The FCG was set up by DE&S to pull through technology at pace and accelerate acquisition at value for money to ensure the UK Armed Forces are provided with the equipment needed to counter ever-evolving threats.

Under Project Theseus, it is hoped the use of self-driving air or ground platforms to deliver supplies, including ammunition, clothes, food and fuel, will reduce the need for personnel to risk their life by entering into what are typically hostile environments.

As well as vehicles, FCG sees the essential inclusion of dynamic autonomous processing, ordering and delivering fuels, foodstuff and other stores so that troops to have the ‘ease of an Amazon style delivery service’ where they need it most.

Under a potentially ground-breaking commercial model, FCG was able to use a novel process to rigorously evaluate autonomous capabilities from more than50 primes and SMEs before awarding three contracts totaling £9 million pounds to the companies Horiba Mira (UK), Marlborough Comms Ltd (UK) and Rafael (Israel). The contracts will help the companies accelerate the development of their systems to try and meet further challenges set by FCG and the British Army.

Project THESEUS, a two-year Defence Transformation Fund project, is also exploiting the innovation, findings and technology demonstrator investigations delivered by the Dstl Autonomous Last Mile Re-Supply (ALMRS) project.

As reported last month, under Theseus the British Army is exploring using robotic dogs to support troops in dangerous and complex urban environments. The platforms would be used to navigate rough terrain, help deliver supplies in war zones and investigate bombs, significantly reducing the risk to personnel.