The award was issued through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. American Rheinmetall will serve as the prime contractor.
The company will deliver hybrid-powered uncrewed ground vehicles for company-sized sustainment missions. The vehicles will move supplies to and from forward troop positions.
The autonomous platforms are intended to reduce risk to soldiers. They are also designed to improve logistics efficiency in contested environments.
Project Sustainment will focus on autonomy, commercial technology and hybrid power integration. Voice controls will support interaction between soldiers and robotic vehicles.
Development and testing will take place at U.S. facilities and test ranges. The contract also provides potential follow-on orders.
American Rheinmetall will work with Harbinger, Forterra and Primordial Labs. The three companies will provide vehicle, autonomy and human-machine interface technologies.
Harbinger will contribute commercial vehicle technology and engineering expertise. Its role will support faster development and scalable production options.
Forterra will provide autonomous capabilities for distributed and mission-aware operations. The technology is designed to operate with limited human intervention.
Primordial Labs will supply its Anura human-machine interface. Anura converts natural-language instructions into commands for robotic systems.
The interface is designed to reduce soldiers’ cognitive burden and training requirements. It also supports hands-free operation and higher soldier-to-robot ratios.
“This award expands American Rheinmetall’s growing portfolio of uncrewed ground systems within the U.S. market and reinforces our position as a leader in ground robotics and autonomous technologies,” said Jim Schirmer, VP of Sales & Marketing, American Rheinmetall. “Project Sustainment directly supports the Army’s modernization priorities by delivering autonomous load handling and transport capabilities that increase readiness and reduce the burden on Soldiers.”
The award expands American Rheinmetall’s U.S. military robotics portfolio. It also advances the company’s new partnership with Harbinger.
