Pearson Engineering has released its latest development to provide combat engineering capability to uncrewed vehicles, including Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCVs). Following the release of the RCV-Pioneer Urban Obstacle Clearance Mission Payload at DSEI 2023, which was proven during trials in the United States, the new RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching variant will be released at Eurosatory 2024. The development is part of a planned roll out of engineering capability optimised for a conflict environment that is increasingly characterised by robotics, automation and autonomy. Of a number of Research & Development projects, the minefield breaching mission payload has been prioritised to respond to an increase in demand, driven by the proliferation of anti-tank mines in Ukraine and the threat posed to soldiers. Trial plans with several NATO nations are already in development for Autumn 2024.
Based on expertise developed over Pearson Engineering’s four decades of providing mine ploughs to international end-users, the new Minefield Breaching Mission Payload shares design features that have been integrated with a wide range of vehicle types and are battle proven. Leveraging technical detail from Pearson Engineering’s VECTOR in-service track width mine plough, which maximises ploughing capability on lightweight vehicles with lower tractive capability than traditional Armoured Engineer Vehicles, the RCV-Pioneer Minefield Breaching Mission Payload features two track-width plough blades at the front of the vehicle and a centre-section at the rear to provide full width clearance.
“We recognise the growing place for uncrewed vehicles on the battlefield and their need to both move to places of their Commanders’ choosing, and to provide mobility and counter-mobility support to others. Following the success of our first mission pack which was designed to provide urban obstacle clearance capability, and which has now been trialled on multiple occasions in the United States during manoeuvre support experimentation exercises, we are pleased to launch our new minefield breaching pack at Eurosatory in keeping with end-user demand,” Richard Beatson, Business Development Director at Pearson Engineering said.
The plough sections are arranged around a free-standing and intelligent mission payload frame which enables rapid docking with the chosen uncrewed vehicle. Adjustable jacks lower the frame onto the vehicle before locks secure the payload and vehicle together. In keeping with Pearson Engineering’s scalable approach, the mission payloads can be interchanged by using the system’s same features to unlock the frame from the vehicle and to lift it to allow the vehicle to drive to another payload where the process can be repeated by the same Commander using the same controls. Pearson Engineering has designed a customisable Operator Control Unit (OCU) with a real-time digital twin visualisation to shorten training and mission times. The OCU is used to teleoperate the RCV-Pioneer Modular Mission Payloads and is compatible with multiple payloads. The OCU includes an embedded video screen to enable Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) control. The system is designed to meet current Military Standards for performance and safety.
