Tri-Service

We Reveal the Future of Forces Vehicles

Will tanks of the future actively avoid conflict with the enemy, rather than meet it head on? Darpa seems to think so.

In today’s world of bulky military vehicles overloaded with thick armour, Ground X Vehicle Technlogy (GVX-T) programme is ground breaking. Rather than lumbering over rugged and unpredictable terrain, the vehicle’s crew would be protected by automated and intelligent systems. The object would not be to evade the enemy, rather to avoid detection and engagement in the first place.

Modern armoured vehicles rely on thick armour to survive - but this makes them very heavy

Over the last century of industrialised warfare, protection for combat vehicles and their operators relies solely on a single paradigm: More armour equates to better protection: "Weapons’ ability to penetrate armor, however, has advanced faster than armor’s ability to withstand penetration" - Darpa

So Darpa has created the GXV-T programme to help overcome these challenges and discrupt the current trends in mechanized warfare.

Traditional military vehicles rely on thick armour to survive, but this strategy may become a thing of the past as technology such as the GVX-T develops and improves.

“GXV-T’s goal is not just to improve or replace one particular vehicle it’s about breaking the ‘more armour’ paradigm and revolutionising protection for all armoured fighting vehicles,” said Kevin Massey, Darpa programme manager."

Artist impressions illustrate vehicles with a small body supported on four wheels at the end of autonomous arms which allow the vehicle to navigate boulders and other large objects.

“It looks like one of those Halo vehicles,” says Scott Aughenbaugh, deputy director for strategic futures at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The limitations of existing military vehicles, and the need to move beyond them, are palpable. "larger vehicles are limited to roads, require more logistical support and are more expensive to design, develop, field and replace. The Ground X-Vehicle Technology (GXV-T) program will help to help overcome these challenges and disrupt the current trends in mechanized warfare."