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American defence prime Raytheon has announced the successful live-fire demonstration of its DeepStrike autonomous mobile launcher vehicle.
The vehicle, which does not require a driver, was demonstrated at the US Army’s Project Convergence.
The RTX company had previously led production of the missile and launcher, with Forterra supplying the self-driving technology, Oshkosh Defense providing the vehicle platform and electronic systems, and Ursa Major manufacturing the missile’s rocket motor.
The demonstration used a new Raytheon-made missile, developed for the US Army’s Joint Reduced Range Rocket program that was created via a rapid prototyping initiative.
“DeepStrike provides soldiers with a modern platform, autonomous capability and increased magazine depth to meet the Army’s future fires requirements,” said Brian Burton, vice president of Precision Fires & Maneuver at Raytheon.
“At Project Convergence, Raytheon demonstrated revolutionary autonomous launcher technology: a self-driving launcher designed to operate seamlessly in all weather conditions, on all terrains and in harsh battlefield environments."
The DeepStrike launcher is designed to increase the number of weapons compared to what is currently fielded. The launcher can fire missiles of various sizes while providing the US Army more mobility and survivability.
Over the next year, the team will continue its autonomy testing to include both offensive and defensive fires in stressing environments.
