New Uncrewed Land Vehicle Will Keep Troops Out of Harm's Way

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has unveiled the Rex MK II, the firm's latest unmanned land platform, according to a press release. Due to its many attributes, the Rex MK II can be adapted to a range of ground missions. For starters, the vehicle can operate on land or amphibiously and has a large payload capacity of 1.3 tons.

The new vehicle is also a hybrid electric, comes with all-wheel drive, and has the ability to climb obstacles. It is autonomous with command-and-control capabilities or can be controlled by a single operator remotely. 

“The need to support ground forces in the field to carry out various missions while minimizing threats to soldiers' lives is at the heart of our values here at Israel Aerospace Industries. This system is based on harnessing our decades-long experience with UAVs, to implement in the world of land vehicles,” said Zvika Yarom, general manager land division of IAI.

The Rex MK II is a multi-mission vehicle that can support infantry ground forces in various stages of combat, including carrying munition supplies, medical equipment, water, and food. It can also be used in evacuating injured personnel. 

The Rex MK II even comes with remotely controlled weapons systems, including a 7.62mm machine gun and a cal 0.50 heavy machine gun, and is capable of a “silent watch." This means it can undertake certain missions without running its engine allowing it to go undetected by enemy forces.

Finally, the vehicle is equipped with a situation-awareness system that incorporates electro-optical sensors and radar in order to gather intelligence for units at the tactical edge. The unmanned land vehicle was debuted and showcased this past week at Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), the London-based defense and security exhibition. 

Rani Avni, IAI’s deputy general manager for robotics and autonomous systems, told Defense News that IAI signed a contract for the vehicle with the UK in the second quarter of the calendar year and that the firm has already sold the vehicle to other European countries. He did not specify which were these other countries.