U.S. Army selects Caterpillar, Forterra, IDV USA, Overland AI for breaching program

The U.S. Army selected Caterpillar, Forterra, IDV USA and Overland AI to develop unmanned ground vehicles for its Engineer Autonomous Breaching Capability program. The service announced the selections on Wednesday.

The program seeks robotic systems that can rapidly clear obstacles and minefields while operating beyond line of sight. Systems developed under the effort are intended to reduce exposure of personnel and allow follow-on forces to advance safely. Awards totaling an undisclosed amount are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, according to a release from the Capability Program Executive Mission Autonomy office.

Selected vendors will then take part in a series of demonstrations and tests that end with a Transformation in Contact unit assessment early next year. An Army spokesperson said officials have not yet decided whether the service will conduct a further down-select. The spokesperson added that the Army seeks the best solution industry can provide at an affordable cost.

Unmanned ground vehicles were displayed during a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, Louisiana, on April 20.