FAVSA 2023: British Army to develop remote pilot pod for operating UGVs

The RPP will be used to control UGVs from inside a manned platform, such as the Foxhound mine-protected vehicle pictured. By enabling the operators to remain within close range of the UGV, it could help overcome some of the communications issues that have been encountered in trials with UGV wingmen at beyond-line-of-sight ranges. (Janes/Patrick Allen)

The British Army’s Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) is developing a remote pilot pod (RPP) for the operation of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), Lieutenant Colonel James de St John-Pryce, commanding officer of the British Army Directorate Capability revealed on the first day of SAE Media Group’s Future Armoured Vehicles Situational Awareness (FAVSA) 2023 conference held in London from 24 to 25 April.

Intended as a proof of concept, the RPP will be a standardised tele-operation unit that can be used for remote control of a UGV wingman from within a manned platform. This will allow the manned platform and its UGV wingman to operate in concertsimilar to a ‘tennis doubles pair’.