LOCKHEED MARTIN SMSS

Lockheed Martin’s original pack-hauling robot was named (appropriately enough) MULE, which stood Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment… Vehicle. MULE got canceled at the beginning of this year, though, and its effective replacement seems to be the SMSS, or Squad Mission Support System.

SMSS is completely autonomous, and will either follow behind a soldier or follow preset GPS waypoints, all while avoiding obstacles with its conspicuous and fragile looking LIDAR system. It can 1200 pounds of gear, has a range of over 200 miles, and also functions as a mobile gear charger.

The long-term vision of this system can accommodate armed variants, while improving its reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capabilities within the concept of supervised autonomy. A squad-size manned or unmanned support vehicle is critical to today’s asymmetrical and urban battlefields.

It sounds like Lockheed Martin’s long-term vision is basically to turn SMSS into what MULE was supposed to be: a six wheeled platform that, in addition to hauling equipment, could (by simply adding some modular accessories) also be used for this sort of thing:

Of course, MULE was undoubtedly going to be super expensive and much harder to develop, but it had the potential to offer tons of flexibility, which personally I think is the key to the future of the military in general. Oh, and that thingy it used to get past the barbed wire? It looks an awful lot like one of these.

Anyway, I guess it’s good to see that Lockheed Martin’s original concept isn’t totally dead, it’s just kinda sad when an awesome robot gets made so much less awesome, even if it is substantially more practical.

[ SMSS ]