The US Army’s future combat systems (FCS) modernisation programme has announced that all of the unmanned vehicle systems (UVS) have successfully completed the preliminary design reviews (PDR).
Lead systems integrators for the FCS programme, Boeing and Science Applications International Corporation announced that five PDRs had been completed ahead of the final system-of-systems (SoS) PDR scheduled for later this spring.
The SoS PDR will assess the integration of the programme’s individual platforms into a complete SoS architecture and help establish baselines for developing prototypes.
Boeing vice president and FCS programme manager Gregg Martin said that that this was a big step forward for the FCS programme.
“Each of these unmanned systems plays a critical role in providing soldiers with greater surveillance, reconnaissance and logistical capabilities to increase their effectiveness and survivability on the battlefield,” Martin said.
The FCS platforms reviewed where the multifunctional utility / logistics equipment (MULE) family of vehicles and its autonomous navigation system (ANS); the small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV); the class I unmanned aerial system (UAS); and the class IV unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

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By GlobalDataThe MULE and ANS reviews were completed in fiscal year 2008 and included all three MULE variants: the MULE-transport, the MULE-countermine and the armed robotic vehicle-assault (light).
By Daniel Garrun.