UGV order with FLIR Systems from Marine Corps will send 140 robots to do hazardous combat tasks
NewsApril 07, 2020
ARLINGTON, Va. FLIR Systems has secured an order from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) for more than 140 of FLIR's Centaur unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), plus spares, an $18.6 million contract sourced through the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) of Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II) program.
USMC explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams will use the FLIR Centaur to assist in disarming improvised explosive devices (IEDs), unexploded ordnance, and similar hazardous tasks, with varying types of sensors and payloads added to support a range of missions.
The open-architecture CENTAUR robot -- which is expected to begin shipping to the USMC in the third quarter of 2020 -- uses an advanced EO/IR camera suite, has a manipulator arm that reaches over six feet, and is able to climb stairs; in addition, modular payloads can be attached for CBRNE [Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive] detection and other missions.
