BAE Systems Australia unveils ATLAS UGV

Adelaide-based BAE Systems Australia has unveiled an armed Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (UGV) that the company says gives military commanders an added tactical option while keeping soldiers out of harm’s way.

The Autonomous Tactical Light Armour System (ATLAS) Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV), a new, cost effective, modular, 8×8 UGV, has been designed and built leveraging BAE Systems’ world-leading expertise in autonomous technology, armoured vehicles and in collaboration with industry partners.

The future battlefield will involve a mix of autonomous, semi-autonomous and human machine teams, generating combat mass and removing soldiers from many of the most dangerous tasks, the company says.

“We’ve developed the ATLAS vehicle to give soldiers the advantage on the modern battlefield, according to Andrew Gresham, BAE Systems Australia’s managing director for defence delivery. “This has resulted in an autonomous platform that will deliver the dull, dirty and dangerous tasks expected in a combat environment.

“ATLAS will enable the Australian Army to be fit to fight in the littoral environment. It will help the soldier outpace, out-manoeuvre and out-think conventional and unconventional threats.”

He added, “We have proven expertise in autonomous technologies, built on more than 30 years of complex autonomous projects. We’re excited that this is the first UGV of its kind to be developed in Australia and look forward to working with our industry partners to deliver this capability for our customers.”

The autonomy system at the core of the ATLAS CCV, developed by BAE Systems Australia at its Richmond, VIC, facility  will ‘drive’ the vehicle, avoid obstacles, route plan, and make tactical decisions. The company has worked with partners including vehicle manufacturer Supacat in the UK and Australia, Valhalla Turrets in Slovenia and Victorian manufacturer Marand to deliver the ATLAS CCV.

The vehicle will operate using high levels of autonomy both on and off-road, complementing crewed counterparts such as infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, at a lower cost. The vehicle incorporates existing, proven technologies to provide a cost-effective capability that is mission-configurable and upgradable so that it continues to evolve to counter new and emerging technologies and threats.

It is armed with a new, lightweight, affordable, highly automated medium calibre turret system called ‘VANTAGE ATS’, designed by Valhalla Turrets in Slovenia for use on uncrewed platforms. Importantly, the turret is designed with a ‘human in-the-loop’ targeting system.

ATLAS CCV is easily transportable, designed to fit into a standard 20-foot ISO container or 20-foot ISO flat rack. It will also deliver a logistics multiplier effect for companion crewed platforms, effectively extending the combat endurance of vehicles currently in service.