Bots & Bullets

RE2 Robotics has received $1.5 million in Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop an autonomous flightline sustainment system for the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office.  The program, Mobile Autonomous Aircraft Platform for Sustainment (MAAPS), will focus on the development of dual RE2 Sapien robotic arms integrated with a JLG scissor lift to perform tasks on C-17 military aircraft at height.

Modeling the mechanics of the strongest punch in the animal kingdom, researchers with U.S. Army funding built a robot that mimics the movement of the mantis shrimp. These pugnacious crustaceans could pave the way for small, but mighty robotic devices for the military.

The City of Huntington Park will extend its existing contract with Knightscope for their robot cop to continue patrolling a popular park in Los Angeles County. By a unanimous 5 to 0 vote, the City Council of Huntington Park approved the renewal of the Knightscope Autonomous Security Robot contract for an additional two-year term. 

RE2 Robotics has received $1 million in funding from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC) to develop a robotic system that can autonomously refuel AH-64 Apache helicopters in the field.

The U.S. Army has is working with robotics manufacturer Eckhart to design and build automation to increase the rate of fire for Self-Propelled Howitzers. By way of the SPARTN Fire Faster program, the Army Applications Laboratory managed a competitive process in which hundreds of potential industry partners were evaluated before selecting and funding five companies to lead the artillery loading modernization effort.

By 2025, cyber attackers will have weaponised operational technology (OT) environments to successfully harm or kill humans, according to Gartner.  Attacks on OT – hardware and software that monitors or controls equipment, assets and processes – have become more common. They have also evolved from immediate process disruption such as shutting down a plant, to compromising the integrity of industrial environments with intent to create physical harm. Other recent events like the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack have highlighted the need to have properly segmented networks for IT and OT.

The British Army has used Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the first time during Exercise Spring Storm, as part of Operation Cabrit in Estonia. Soldiers from the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade used an AI engine which provides information on the surrounding environment and terrain.

In recent tests at Eglin Air Force Base, DARPA’s Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program demonstrated a Counter-Unmanned Air System (C-UAS) multilayer defense architecture to defeat unauthorized drone intrusions over military installations or operations.

US Air Force announced it conducted a 2 hour and 10 minute flight test of the Skyborg autonomy core system, or ACS, aboard a Kratos UTAP-22 tactical unmanned vehicle at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Follow-on events will demonstrate direct manned and unmanned teaming between aircraft and multiple ACS-controlled unmanned aircraft.

FLIR Systems has received more than $70 million in new orders for its ground robots from the U.S. Armed Services. The U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps placed orders for nearly 600 FLIR Centaur robots, including additional spares, antennas, and payload mounting kits. As a result, the U.S. Army awarded FLIR a $31.6 million contract increase for its Man Transportable Robot System Increment II (MTRS Inc. II) program. The new award raises the ceiling value of the original MTRS Inc. II contract from roughly $158 million to $190 million.