The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected eight organizations to research and develop an armored ground vehicle that can accommodate additional armor without compromising mobility and speed.
DARPA said Tuesday the agency is interested in a vehicle with track and suspension technologies, agile motion systems, 360-degree data visualization technology and a signature management system as part of the Ground X-Vehicle Technology program.
The goal is to help the armored ground vehicle traverse off-road terrain and avoid incoming threats while keeping crew members safe, the agency added.
DARPA also wants the vehicle to provide semi-autonomous driver assistance and automated key crew functions.
“We’re exploring a variety of potentially groundbreaking technologies, all of which are designed to improve vehicle mobility, vehicle survivability and crew safety and performance without piling on armor,” said Maj. Christopher Orlowski, DARPA program manager.
The GXV-T program awardees are Carnegie Mellon University, Honeywell, Leidos, Pratt & Miller, QinetiQ, Raytheon, Southwest Research Institute and SRI International.