Army Finally Decides On Robotic Mule

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

The United States Army has finally chosen a company to develop the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET). General Dynamics has been chosen to provide the Army with an unmanned combat vehicle that will assist infantry squads by carrying most of their equipment and food into combat alongside them, so in other words: a combat soldier’s best friend.

The Army has awarded General Dynamics with a $162.4 million, five year contract to supply the SMET system.

The system will be able to carry up to 1,000 pounds of soldier’s combat equipment over 60 miles. The system can run for 72 hours and generate power for charging soldier’s electronics.

More often than not, infantry soldiers carry excessive amounts of equipment during training and operations. In many cases soldiers often could find themselves carrying over 60% of their body weight for dozens of miles at a time. The SMET will help relieve a lot of this burden, allowing soldiers the luxury of staying lightweight while still having all of their most critical equipment nearby.

The Army has chosen General Dynamic’s pitch at the SMET over three other companies competing to supply the Army with the UGV, Polaris Industries Inc., HDT Global Inc., and Howe and Howe Technologies Inc.

General Dynamics have developed the Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT) to serve as the Army’s SMET. While the MUTT could be controlled remotely, the UGV is capable of automatically following troops. The technology works as a force multiplier and has been engineered to accommodate new payloads, controllers, and increased levels of autonomy, according to Militaryaerospace.com.

As part of the contract’s agreements, General Dynamics will supply the Army with the MUTT as well as maintenance work, training, field service support, system support, and storage. The Army plans on buying about 5,700 MUTTs, depending on their price and amount of government funding.

Work on the contract is expected to end by October 2024.