Rheinmetall Canada is targeting the Canadian Army’s upcoming Land Vehicle Crew Training System (LVCTS) project through a consortium known as ‘FORC3’. CDR asked Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, to get the latest on their networked training solution and an update on the company’s innovative uncrewed systems. Here is our report.
A FORC3 to Reckon With – LVCTS
Since its founding in 1986 by the German Rheinmetall group, Rheinmetall Canada has grown to become a trusted partner to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). At its facilities in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Ottawa, and other offices throughout the world, the company’s 400 employees create and manufacture cutting-edge solutions covering applications such as air defence; vehicle systems and integration; and weapon, command and communications, soldier and robotic systems. Rheinmetall Canada also provides the Canadian market with access to Rheinmetall’s portfolio of system solutions, services and technologies in the areas of mobility, reconnaissance, management, effectiveness, simulation, and protection.
Today, almost 40% of Rheinmetall Canada’s output is sold to the Department of National Defence (DND). This is because the company is one of Canada’s largest suppliers of battle management and land defence systems. Rheinmetall Canada is also prime contractor on several vital DND programs. They include the repair and overhaul of the CAF’s Leopard 2 A4 training tanks, the company’s 40 mm close area suppression weapon, the MASS Multi Ammunition Softkill System for the Halifax Class Shield Replacement, and the Integrated Soldier System (ISS) Project. As well, Rheinmetall Canada is a member of the successful Textron Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) team, whose armoured vehicles are being used by the Canadian Army.
“Thirty-seven years on, Rheinmetall Canada is doing our best to remain a partner of choice for the CAF,” said Alain Tremblay, the company’s Vice-President of Business Development and Innovation. “At the same time, we want to export more Canadian know-how and expertise to the world market. Our people have a lot to offer to our international clients, as well as to DND.”
FORC3 TARGETS LVCTS
DND’s upcoming Land Vehicle Crew Training System (LVCTS) is an extremely ambitious leap forward for the Canadian military. The reason? “The LVCTS project will deliver a training system, connected by a network and housed in purpose-built facilities, to enable crews of the principle armoured combat vehicles to train as realistically as possible at their home garrison locations,” says DND’s website. This is a stunning advance over the hands-on teaching methods used in the past.
To make this happen, the LVCTS will replicate all crew stations within the CAF’s Light Armoured Vehicle 6.0, Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank and Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle. This realism will allow CAF troops to train both as individuals and collectively up to the combat team level, inside a networked synthetic environment that will faithfully simulate various terrains and enemy capabilities to its users. The government’s goal is to locate LVCTS training units at the Canadian Army’s five main garrison locations (Gagetown, Valcartier, Petawawa, Edmonton and Shilo) with each being sustained by contractors.
With a funding range of $250-$499 million (and a final delivery date of 2031/2032), the LVCTS is a prize project for Canada’s defence industry. In a bid to win this prize, Rheinmetall Canada has banded together with Lockheed Martin Canada, Bluedrop Training and Simulation, Calian Ltd., EllisDon Construction and Building Services, and REDspace Incorporated to form the FORC3 team. Given the FORC3 members’ existing training expertise — collectively they currently operate more than 40 global training centres for Canada’s key allies, including NATO and the Five-Eyes Alliance — this consortium is well-suited to deliver the kind of networked training solution that DND is seeking through the LVCTS.
“The LVCTS will be one of the major NATO simulation programs of the next decade,” said Tremblay. “That’s why we’re highly excited about this program, and ready to bid for it. As a team, FORC3 has unrivalled experience and expertise in the design, development, and implementation of world-class combat vehicle virtual simulation centres that are already being used by Canada’s most important allies. We want to bring this same capability to our country.”
UNCREWED SYSTEMS
Mention ‘uncrewed systems’ to anyone in the defence realm, and chances are they’ll talk about the uncrewed aerial systems (aka drones) that are currently dominating the skies in Ukraine. But as game-changing as these aerial vehicles are, they are only a part of the potential for uncrewed systems on the battlefield. Another area where uncrewed vehicles can make a difference is on the ground with the infantry. This is an area that Rheinmetall Canada has been exploring since 2019, when it acquired Provectus Robotics Solutions.
Thanks to that acquisition and subsequent investments, Rheinmetall Canada has become a pioneer in developing robotic applications for the private and public security sector as well as military and government agencies. In particular, the Rheinmetall PATH A-Kit can transform virtually any ground vehicle into an extremely versatile mobile robotic platform with self-steering autonomous driving functions.
“We started exploring the possibilities of unmanned ground systems on a black piece of paper back in 2017,” Tremblay told CDR. “We could see what was happening with uncrewed aerial vehicles and knew that the same capabilities would be just as useful to ground forces. This led to the development of the Rheinmetall Mission Master family of Uncrewed Ground Systems (UGS) using the PATH A-kit, which are designed to support military troops in dangerous missions, difficult terrain, and hostile weather conditions. We started selling them through small contracts to the UK in 2021-2022. Today, half a dozen military forces around the world are using Mission Master UGSs.”
THE MISSION MASTER FAMILY
According to the Rheinmetall Canada website (rheinmetall.ca), the Mission Master family of A-UGVs comes in three sizes. They are all equipped with the Rheinmetall PATH for full autonomous operations.
The smallest is the Rheinmetall Mission Master SP, which is a low-profile UGS designed to provide assistance and reduce danger to dismounted soldiers in a wide range of missions, including high-risk situations. Powered by a low-signature electric motor, the Mission Master SP is well-suited for operations that require stealth and agility. Its capabilities encompass forward and last-mile resupply, silent watch operations, and carriage of light payloads such as section sensors and weapon systems. Thanks to its compact size, the Mission Master SP can tag along with troops like a well-trained service dog, so that they can get closer to the enemy without being seen or heard.
The ‘middle child’ of this family is the larger Rheinmetall Mission Master CXT. It is a rugged UGS designed to accompany troops on all kinds of missions, especially those being conducted in challenging environments. Offering extreme-terrain mobility, hybrid (electric/diesel) propulsion, and advanced amphibious capabilities, the Mission Master CXT can reliably and silently move heavy payloads in the most unforgiving conditions. Even in the most difficult of situations, it stays capable of transporting its full payload capacity of 1000kg.
As for operational distance? The Mission Master CXT has a total range of 255km without refueling (including 25km on batteries). The diesel engine can be used to transport the CXT close to its target. Then its integrated lithium-ion batteries come into play, facilitating silent missions while operating in extreme hot or cold conditions. Here’s the best part: Thanks to its compact footprint, this UGS can be transported as an internal load inside a range of military aircraft such as the CH53, C-130, or Chinook helicopter. It can also be flown inside commercial aircraft.
For those situations where range and payload must be maximized, there’s the Rheinmetall Mission Master XT, which is the Big Brother of this UGS family. Like the CXT, the XT can transport up to 1000kg in the most difficult of conditions. However, the diesel XT offers a total range of 600km without refuelling. Meanwhile, this UGS’s integrated battery pack facilitates silent watch operations for several hours at a time independent of its diesel engine, which extends the XT’s capabilities further still. Add the fact that the Mission Master XT is big and rugged enough to handle platoon or company sensors and weapon systems, and you’ve got an autonomous platform that can increase a unit’s firepower and range with heavier-calibre weapons and larger optics than they would otherwise be able to carry.
The takeaway: With their ability to go from Point A to Point B on their own, and to integrate their autonomous operations with battle management systems, Rheinmetall Mission Master UGSs can be a significant enhancement to any ground-based troop formation, be it large or small. They are also a tangible, available solution to the issue of troop shortages in Canada and around the world.
“Everywhere you can use autonomous systems, you can reduce your requirements for crew drivers, crew commanders and the like,” said Tremblay. “You can also use these autonomous vehicles in dangerous situations where you don’t want to risk human assets if you can avoid it.”
ADDING AUTONOMOUS CAPABILITIES TO CURRENT CAF VEHICLES
As mentioned above, the Rheinmetall PATH is the driving force for the Mission Master family’s autonomous operations. Also mentioned above is the PATH’s ability to be installed in virtually any land-based vehicle, including those already being used by the CAF and other NATO allies. Short for ‘proven, agnostic, trusted, and highly autonomous’, the PATH allows vehicles equipped with these systems to operate in teleoperation (human remote controlled) and autonomous modes.
The user interface to remotely activate/control PATH is available on tablets, smartwatches, soldier systems, and single-hand controllers. This interface provides full access to advanced PATH features, such as follow-me, convoy, and autonomous navigation modes for uncrewed vehicles. Each control mode comes with multiple layers of protection to ensure that PATH vehicles always operate safely. At the same time, Rheinmetall is committed to keeping a human in the loop in all kinetic weapons-based operations, so that it is never a machine that decides when to open fire. And because the cutting edge of military technology is always moving, the Rheinmetall PATH has been built using an open, flexible architecture so that it can rapidly integrate innovations as artificial intelligence technologies evolve.
At present, the capabilities of the Rheinmetall PATH are still evolving. “After almost seven years of development, the vehicle is able to go from Point A to Point B cross country with almost no operator’s input,” Tremblay told CDR. “But we are still working on speed: Depending on the ground and the obstacle, between 20 and 30 kilometres per hour is realistic and safe. Of course, some clients would like to go between 50 and 70 kilometres per hour but that is not available today. We can reach those speeds on roads and on tracks, but not in the cross country environment.”
CURRENT PLANS
Today, Rheinmetall Canada is focussed on installing PATH A-kits on under three tonne class platforms, “mainly because that’s where the market study steered us seven years ago,” said Tremblay. “But we’re a little bit platform agnostic. For instance, for Germany, the UK, the US, and Australia, we are offering PATH A-kit Leader/Follower systems for high-mobility logistics trucks. With these systems, you can create 10-20 truck ‘road trains’ where only the first truck has a human driver.”
Meanwhile, Rheinmetall Canada is working on installing PATH A-kits in prototypes for the U.S. Army XM30 Combat Vehicle program, as part of American Rheinmetall Vehicles’ membership in Team Lynx (along with Textron Systems, Raytheon, L3Harris Technologies, Allison Transmission, and Anduril Industries). The optionally-crewed XM30 is meant to replace the U.S. Army’s crewed Bradley Fighting Vehicles. “We will be providing the autonomous capability on such a platform in support of our sister company,” Tremblay said.
At this point in time, both Team Lynx and General Dynamics Land Systems have been chosen by the U.S. Army to provide XM30 prototypes for this competitive bidding process. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, “the total award value for both contracts is approximately $1.6 billion.”
Clearly, Rheinmetall Canada, its parent company Rheinmetall Group, and sister companies are at the forefront of autonomous control systems and defence design. As such, they appear poised to ride the wave of uncrewed systems that seems destined to wash over the crewed equipment world – and is now lapping at its edges. For a company that only opened its doors in Canada less than four decades ago, it’s a heady achievement.
James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief
From Radar Technology to it’s bid on Canada’s LVCTS, LVM & ERC projects, Rheinmetall stands ready to support Canada’s Armed Forces. Read more on Rheinmetall Canada:
