Britain is working to integrate the Hector ground drone with the Ajax armoured fighting vehicle so the two can carry out reconnaissance and combat missions together, according to ARX Robotics, one of the companies leading the project.
General Dynamics Land Systems UK and ARX Robotics UK will work jointly on connecting ground robots to Ajax, with Hector set to become the first such system linked to the vehicle. The ARX Robotics team told LIGA.net that the goal is to plug Hector into Ajax's digital system so the armoured vehicle's crew can steer the robot and draw on its data while carrying out tasks on the battlefield.
How the Hector-Ajax system would work
Ajax is a family of tracked armoured fighting vehicles built by General Dynamics Land Systems UK for the British Army, designed mainly for reconnaissance and surveillance. Under the planned integration, Ajax is expected to function as a kind of command post for autonomous platforms operating alongside it.
That would let the crew assign tasks to Hector, monitor how the robot is performing, and make use of the information Hector gathers during reconnaissance runs, according to the companies involved.
The link between the two systems is planned around the Generic Vehicle Architecture, an open digital architecture that already underpins Ajax's onboard systems. Because the architecture is open, the same framework could eventually be used to connect other autonomous ground platforms as well, allowing manned combat vehicles and robotic systems to operate as a single network rather than as separate pieces of equipment.
Plans for UK manufacturing
The partners are also looking at producing these robotic systems inside Britain rather than importing them. Options being considered include local assembly of the robots, integration of their components, manufacturing parts on computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, and building up a domestic supply chain to support the work.
No timeline for when the Hector-Ajax integration will be completed or fielded was given.
