Army seeks robot prototypes for ground combat vehicles

The Army plans to issue a request for prototype proposals for the third increment of the Combat Vehicle Robotics program, according to an April 5 announcement.

"The intent of the CoVeR Inc 3 program is to develop and integrate technologies that enable scalable integration of multi-domain robotic and autonomous systems," the announcement states. "These capabilities will be teamed with Army formations and support all combat warfighting functions, such as close combat, reconnaissance, targeting and acquisition."

The prototype acquisition process will include two different stages, according to the announcement. A request for technical paper and a rough order of magnitude will come first, followed by a virtual pitch day that is "tentatively" scheduled for June.

Members of the National Advanced Mobility Consortium will be eligible for the program, which is being funded through a 2017 other transaction authority contract between the NAMC and the Army.

The period of performance for the program will last three years, according to the announcement. The announcement states there are no plans to pursue production efforts after this prototyping program.