A--Technology Development and Performance Requirements Validation Program for the Future Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV)

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Autonomous Operations (AO) Future Naval Capability (FNC) is soliciting proposals from industry, academic institutions, and other agencies for the development of affordable technology solutions and the validation of performance capabilities required for the future Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV) program.The Gladiator is an unmanned, tele-operated/semi-autonomous, highly mobile ground vehicle system intended to provide the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Ground Combat Element (GCE) with a variety of mission capabilities that will allow the detection, location, and neutralization of threats while reducing its risk exposure. Examples of these desired capabilities are: reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting acquisition (RSTA); direct fire; obstacle breaching; chemical/biological weapon detection; obscurant delivery; engineering reconnaissance; communication relay; and tactical deception. The Gladiator system will consist of a base mobility platform known as a Mobile Base Unit (MBU) controlled by an Operator Control Unit (OCU) via a radio frequency (RF) link. The MBU will have built-in RSTA equipment and will be capable of seamlessly accommodating different Mission Payload Modules (MPM's) according to current mission needs. The Gladiator must be small and lightweight enough so that two vehicle systems can be transported in the cargo area of an M1123 High Mobility Multi Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV A2). It must be simple and durable enough to withstand extreme environments and abuse. A system weight of eight hundred (800) pounds, including payload and Operator Control Unit (OCU) has been established as a target. To be effective, the Gladiator must be capable of traversing all types of terrain, including soft soils, hills, vertical obstacles, negative obstacles, and water obstacles. The Gladiator is intended to operate in hostile areas that would normally pose substantial risk to Marines. It may be the recipient of, and engage in, direct fire activities. It must be capable of surviving threats that include small-arms (7.62 mm) fire at close range and anti-personnel mines and grenades. Since the Gladiator will suffer attrition as a result of operating in high risk environments, system affordability is of paramount importance. A target Average Unit Production Cost (AUPC) of the base system (MBU and OCU) is $150K. A complete description of system performance goals can be referenced in the document Desired Operational Performance Characteristics for a Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle. Concurrently satisfying the stated performance parameters in an affordable manner will be a challenge. The Office of Naval Research intends to award up to four (4) simultaneous contracts in FY02 for the first of a two-phase process to help shape the definition of the future Gladiator and, with the contractor, verify whether or not the majority of the requirements can be simultaneously and cost-effectively achieved. The Phase I efforts will involve the investigation, design, and development of unmanned ground vehicle technologies in the areas of command and control, mobility, modularity, system signature reduction, durability, and survivability, which are vital to achieving system performance goals. A preliminary system design and performance specification shall be the primary products delivered to the Government at the end of this phase and shall form the basis for a down-select decision to qualify for the Phase II. Phase I is anticipated to last ten (10) months. The next phase of the program will continue to refine the preliminary designs, identify and build candidate technology solutions, test them individually and in concert with each other, and finally integrate them together into mobility platforms called Technology Demonstration Models (TDM's) for performance testing and demonstrations. Phase II is anticipated to last fourteen (14) months. The products of the ON