The Military European Land-Robot Trials in Hammelburg

08:55 GMT, July 4, 2008 This week the German Army Staff and the Directorate General of Armament of the Federal Ministry of Defence hosted the second Military European Land-Robot Trial (M-ELROB) at the Infantry School of Hammelburg/Germany.

M-ELROB 2008 focused on the question whether and how robotic systems can effectively support the soldiers in the field. Nowadays many European soldiers are targets of ambushes and attacks while on mission abroad such as in Afghanistan or Iraq. Opposing Forces are not seeking a decisive military victory on the battlefield but trying to erode the political firmness of the parliament and demoralize the population’s will to support their nation’s commitment for global security. The protection of these soldiers against death and injury enables the completion of military orders and ensures political freedom of action. Consequently, the main focus of this event was laid on the identification of such robotic systems which are able to master daily military tasks and thus provide maximum protection for soldiers. This was achieved by four-day trials on which the remote-controlled and partially autonomously operating chaining and wheeled vehicles accomplished different military trials such as reconnaissance & surveillance, transport & mule, explosive ordnance disposal and site security.

Representatives of German Armed Forces and delegation from allied armed forces, police and other security agencies gained insights into the developments and capabilities of the different exposed systems. 46 exhibitors from 9 European nations participated at this event. The German companies Diehl BGT Defence, Telerob, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Robowatch showed their systems as well as Allan-Vanguard (UK), QinetiQ (US) and the French Team composed of THALES, ECA and the robotic research centre CNRS/LAAS - just to name some of them. Many universities as well as research institutes have exhibited also their systems, mostly prototypes. Some 20 of these participated on the different trials.

Deputy Army Chief of Staff of the Federal German Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Günter Weiler stressed that unmanned land systems can not replace the soldier completely. However, “they can improve the performance and capability of our soldiers and enhance force protection significantly,” he pointed out. „Crucial is the protection of our servicemen and women in the field”, he underlined. He also stated that Germany is not looking for any armored unmanned platform. “This is not wanted at the current time”.

The exhibitors, however, criticized that the German Armed Forces just evaluates the capabilities of the products in the market without stating clear which requirements they have and which kind of platforms they are looking at. This procedure places all smaller companies on enormous problems, since they could not align their scarce resources. „We could work very much better, if the Federal Armed Forces would exactly communicate us which requirement regarding size, capacity, abilities and endurance they need for their future systems. “, an exhibitor comments.