Estonia based Milrem Robotics announces the launch of a new medium class Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle. The Type-X will become an intelligent wingman to main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and will be capable of taking on the most dangerous tasks and positions, resulting in lower lethality risks.
“The Type-X will provide equal or over matching firepower and tactical usage to a unit equipped with Infantry Fighting vehicles. It provides means to breach enemy defensive positions with minimal risk for own troops and replacing a lost RCV is purely a logistical nuance,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.
The Type-X can be fitted with a cannon up to 50 mm. With up to a 30 mm cannon the RCV is airdroppable - the C-130J and the KC-390 can carry one, an A400M two and a C-17 five.
“The vehicle will be equipped with intelligent functions such as follow-me, waypoint navigation and obstacle detection with Artificial Intelligence being part of the algorithms,” Väärsi said. “Also, our software developers have taken a totally new and innovative approach to allow remote controlled operations on higher speeds.”
With a weight of 12 tons and efficient power management the vehicle has superior terrain capabilities. Its height of 2.2 m and a rear engine provide low visual and heat signature.
The Type-X is three to four times lighter and its cost significantly lower than that of a conventional IFV. It has been designed with intelligent predictive maintenance combined with a Health and Usage Monitoring System and Line Replacement Unit principle to ensure a low Through Lifecycle Cost and logistic footprint. Its hybrid powertrain and rubber tracks reduce lifecycle costs significantly.
To create the Type-X Milrem Robotics utilized its knowledge gained from developing its THeMIS Unmanned Ground Vehicle, intended to support dismounted troops, that has been acquired by ten countries, including seven NATO members: France, Norway, the UK, the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Estonia.
Milrem Robotics is the European leading robotics and autonomous systems developer with two offices in Estonia, one in Sweden and Finland and shortly one in the Netherlands.
The company leads a consortium that was awarded 30,6 M (EURO) from the European Commission’s European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) to develop a European standardized unmanned ground system.
About the author