U.S. Army tests combat vehicles for 'next generation' at Camp Grayling

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- The U.S. Army put what they are calling its combat vehicle for the next generation to the test.

The set of three vehicles represents brand new technologies that the Army is working to get in the hands of warfighters.

One is a controlled vehicle that can be optionally manned while the other two are completely robotic.

“These vehicles can move forward of a man force and then team with humans," said Ross Coffman, the director of Next Generation Combat Vehicles. "It’s something we call man and unmanned teaming, and so they can move to the next hill, the next terrain feature, see what’s out there, detect chemicals, put direct fire on the enemy.”

The goal of the vehicles is to keep soldiers out of harms way.

“This is a big step for our army, as we try to figure out how we want the future army to look and fight, and in a perfect world we would really love for a robot to go in and figure out what’s going on," said Jeff Langhout, the director of Combat Capabilities Development.

The vehicles have advanced threat and fire detection systems to identify moving targets through cameras and laser optics with full 360 video coverage.

“It will be able to tell us if there’s someone in the woods that gets out a rifle and fires a shot," said Langhout. "We will be able to see immediately where that shot came from and that gets fed to soldiers operating.”

Operators said this technology is overdue and are excited to see this experimental vehicle make it to the next stage.

"It is 2019, there is no reason why we are using humans to conduct nuclear biological and chemical recognizance," said Cory Wallace. "There's no reason why we are using humans to breach complex obstacles while under fire. We have the technology to be better."

Army leaders said these vehicles are going to help save lives and win wars in the not so distant future.

The robotic vehicles will be shipped to Maryland next week for extensive testing.

If they make it past that phase, they will be in the hands of soldiers in Fort Collins, Colorado, where they will be put to the test under a tactical scenario.

If all goes well, the vehicle could be ready for the battlefield by 2023.