By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
A test-drive of a truck filled with concrete blocks may be an important step toward the development of an autonomous mobile rocket launcher.
The test took place in Pittsburgh, where Lockheed Martin used a tactical truck hauling concrete to simulate an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), the multiple rocket launcher developed for the Army and mounted on a standard M1140 truck frame.
According to Lockheed, the test showed the system’s ability to navigate without a driver, “using non-emitting perception sensors, enabling seamless day and night operations without a crew.”
“Our approach offers a unique solution that allows the Army to upgrade their existing HIMARS fleet with enhanced autonomous capability, while retaining the option for crewed operations,” said Becky Withrow, Lockheed’s business development director. “This maximizes customer investment in their launcher fleet and provides the flexibility to adapt to changing mission requirements.”
HIMARS has been one of the systems the US has given to Ukraine, which has used it successfully in the war with Russia. Meanwhile, the US has deployed a number of the rocket systems to Japan and the Philippines, part of a buildup aimed at countering the growing threat from China.
Earlier this year, the Army conducted its first test-fire of an unmanned prototype based on HIMARS. The Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML) is designed to boost the Army’s firepower capabilities without a proportional increase in the number of troops.
Other tests have involved linking a manned HIMARS to an unmanned one.
“The guidance that we’ve received from our most senior leaders is to use capabilities like artificial intelligence, or advanced robotics, to augment soldiers, not necessarily to replace them, “ Maj. Gen. John Rafferty of the Army Futures Command told Warrior Maven in 2022.
In other words, humans are not being taken out of the loop. For instance, an unmanned HIMARS could surveil targets from a forward position while waiting for attack command specifics from a human decision maker.
Lockheed says another demonstration is planned for the second half of next year. The company says the Army “envisions pairing a manned HIMARS with an autonomous wingman launcher.”
Lockheed in working on a number of unmanned systems for the military. Among them – a crewed/uncrewed mission using artificial intelligence-controlled aircraft through a touchscreen pilot interface.
And the company’s Sikorsky helicopter has been selected to test capability of the MATRIX flight autonomy system. Next year, a UH-60 Black Hawk will demonstrate how autonomous helicopters can resupply troops on the battlefield.
