Anduril Industries and Hanwha Defense USA are teaming up to submit a bid for the U.S. Army’s Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport robot competition. Anduril, serving as the prime contractor, plans to deliver a modified Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (UGV) based on Hanwha’s proven Arion-SMET platform. The Army chose General Dynamics Land Systems’ MUTT for the first increment of the program, with a $162.4 million contract awarded in October 2019.
The service has now opened bids for the second increment of the program to decrease the burden on soldiers in the field. Anduril and Hanwha will also be working with Forterra to incorporate its AutoDrive vehicle autonomy solution. Lattice, Anduril’s software, will provide a simplified user interface for commanding and controlling the S-MET to support lethal effects at the tactical edge.
The team is focused on load-carrying, power generation capacity, reduced sustainment, survivability, and modular architecture for a wide array of payloads. The robotic vehicle will have a low acoustic signature for enhanced battlefield asset functionality. Other expected competitors include Teledyne FLIR, GDLS, Rheinmetall with ST Engineering, and HDT.
The Army is focused on experimenting with robots and emerging technology for human-machine integration, evaluating how robotic technologies can complement human capabilities on the battlefield. Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News, with a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College.
