El Programa Integral de Modernizaci\u00f3n del US Army establecido en 2017, incluye la Nueva Generaci\u00f3n de Veh\u00edculos de Combate (NGCV), que tiene a los sistemas aut\u00f3nomos terrestres como un objetivo de especial inter\u00e9s. Particularmente el desarrollo de \u201cRobotic Combat Veh\u00edcles\u201d (RCV) se encuentra ya en la etapa de ensayos operacionales, comenzando por los veh\u00edculos de menor tama\u00f1o, destinados a misiones de exploraci\u00f3n y combate en apoyo a las menores fracciones.<\/p>\n
Ongoing tests of the Army\u2019s Robotic Combat Vehicle<\/a> this year will expand the vision of what the service wants to do with its vehicle and even dismounted formations.<\/p>\n This past fall, the Army announced<\/a> that it will pursue light, medium and heavy versions of the RCV<\/a>. The light version\u2019s fielding could be as early as 2023 with the medium and heavy versions to follow one year after the other.<\/p>\n Early experiments in 2018 and 2019 focused on soldiers controlling the vehicle from a near but remote location for maneuvers and even complex operations such as breaching. Those evolved from single-vehicle \u201crobot wingman\u201d style tests to platoon-sized efforts and are expected to see company-sized attempts soon.<\/p>\n In November, soldiers with A Company, 1st Battalion of the 28th Infantry took four light versions of the RCV along on dismounted, rifle platoon exercises at Fort Benning, Georgia.<\/p>\n Those included movement to contact, attacks and defense. They did side-by-side comparisons, running the drills without robots in standard formations and again with the robots.<\/p>\n They also had a few more tools to use alongside the RCVs \u2014 including a tethered drone, counter-drone jammer, smoke obscuration module and a Common Remotely Operated Weapon System with both an M240 machine gun and Javelin missile.<\/p>\n The RCV got a taste of amphibious operations, too, when it \u201cswam\u201d across Victory Pond at Fort Benning to test its abilities in water crossings.<\/p>\n Soldier feedback on maneuverability and capability were positive, but it did have trouble keeping up with dismounted soldiers in dense vegetation, according to the Army.<\/p>\n These vehicles are seen as more than just gear mules and potential extended fires for the platoon-size force.<\/p>\n Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, who directs the Army\u2019s Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, also said that exercises such as the November rifle company maneuvers will help inform Army formations and employment.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the service is looking at how to best restructure their basic fighting unit \u2013 the Brigade Combat Team \u2013 as they gear up for division-level and Corps-level combat.<\/p>\n Paradoxically, that might mean a lighter but more mobile and faster infantry footprint.<\/p>\n The Army shifted some of its infantry BCTs to Stryker BCTs starting in 2018 and continued that move by bulking up its formations, transforming some Stryker teams to Armor brigades.<\/p>\n What that means is that IBCTs, or their eventual replacement, will have to keep up with more mechanized and mobile options with more vehicles and likely more robots in the ranks.<\/p>\n