Military vehicle challenge launched

The MOD has launched this year’s Grand Challenge competition by unveiling a range of innovative combat vehicles that could be seen on the battlefields of the future at an event in London.

The systems, which are being built by UK universities, schools and private business, will battle it out in August at Copehill Down in Wiltshire, a village specially built by the military for urban warfare training.

This year’s competitors were invited to develop highly autonomous aerial and ground vehicles, which can detect and identify a range of threats encountered by UK troops on operations. These threats - such as marksmen, roadside bombs and armed militia - will be recreated during the August event.

Vehicles on display at the event included mini helicopters and flying robots working in tandem and unmanned ground vehicles kitted out with high-tech sensors. They incorporate communications technologies to relay information back to team members and commanders on the ground.