One of the major tendencies at Eurosatory 2014 exhibition, that confirms the future developments of the forces, is the UGV robots. All the major armament industries (almost…) are getting into it, such as the Italian Iveco or the French company Nexter.

The Nexter Nerva family is already known : this small robot is developed in 2, 4 and now 6 wheels (to climb stairs, fitted with a track). This Nerva triggers interest and has been purchased already: Italy, Japan, Hungary, Spain, Burma brought some copies to watch, test, and think. Even if it is a small quantity to “see”, the market is awakening.

The other trend concerns the bigger robots, such as Mule, which aims to support the soldoiers and carry its weapons, ammunitions, food, sensors and other communication systems… Nexter, answering a request from the French joint staff, invests and explores this segment. In partnership with the small French company Sera (financed by a DGA Rapid programme), Nexter unveiled during Eurosatory its Mule Robbox solution, a robotic logistic system. To sum up, Sera provides the vehicle and Nexter the robotic intelligence.

Weighing 800 kg, the Robbox offer a load of 400 kg. It is powered by two engines (front / rear offering a symmetric mobility) at a speed of 45 km/h on the road (90 km/h max) and 30 km/h in cross country conditions. Equipped with cameras, GPS, laser scanning…the platform can have various purposes and be available in different versions: logistics but also counter mining, air defence (showed on the MBDA booth).

With the logistic version, 2 modes are already planned: aircraft discharger (automated back and forth) and logistic support of a combat group. The Mule must here transport the packages of one combat section and support it. The difficulty lies here to not interfere with the operation while staying close. The French DGA will test the mobility of the Robbox at the end of the year, while a technical and operational evaluation is planned for 2015.