The U.S. Army has selected four companies to move to the second phase of the Squad, Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET), to develop an unmanned ground vehicle assisting dismounted troops with equipment transport. One of the winners, HDT Global (HDT) said it will provide a new robotic platform known as ‘Hunter WOLF’, a 6×6 electric drive all-terrain robotic vehicle has 130 horsepower peak power, developing a top speed of 14 mph; Hunter WOLF can carry up to 450 kg (1000 lbs.) of cargo for more than 100 miles with internal fuel, and operate for more than 72 hours without resupply. The vehicle can climb a 70% grade and is highly maneuverable using a skid steer.
Under development since 2012 to meet the requirements for the Army SMET Program, the HDT Hunter WOLF has undergone extensive evaluations and trials, including the most recent SMET Phase I evaluation. The HDT Hunter WOLF system completed the required 60-mile endurance trial in 23 hours, faster than all competitors.
The Hunter WOLF features a JP-8/electric hybrid powertrain enabling the vehicle’s “silent drive” and “silent watch” capability. It has a 20 kW onboard generator for battery recharging and troop support, as well as 3 kW power offload powering external systems.
The U.S. Army has selected four companies to move to the second phase of the Squad, Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET), to develop an unmanned ground vehicle assisting dismounted troops with equipment transport. The teams selected for Phase II include General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), HDT Global (HDT) Expeditionary Systems, Howe & Howe and a team of Polaris Defense and Applied Research Associates. Each team will build 20 UGVs for Army evaluation. The selection followed a demonstration of robotic logistics technologies at Fort Benning, Georgia.
