Lockheed Martin has announced that during the U.S. Army Extended Warfighter Experiment (EWE) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Bliss, Texas, its Autonomous Mobility Applique System (AMAS)—which is an “applique kit” that is made up of sensors, actuators and controls— logged more than 55,000 testing miles.

Testing of the AMAS system, which can be installed on just about any military tactical wheeled vehicle, included using Palletized Loading System vehicle convoys where a soldier drove the lead vehicle, while the following vehicles (three to four) followed robotically.

“The testing was conducted by Soldiers and Lockheed Martin personnel over several months at two major military installations in a variety of mission scenarios,” says Kathryn Hasse, Combat Maneuver Systems director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

“Soldiers operating the AMAS vehicles provided us very positive feedback about how the system freed them up to do the job of a Soldier instead of the job of a truck driver.”

AMAS increases safe convoy operations for military vehicles by providing driver warning/driver assist and semi-autonomous leader/follower capability.

By reducing manpower needs for convoy operations, AMAS ultimately frees up soldiers so that they can conduct other tasks, and it removes them from exposure to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), as well as other enemy activity, while on resupply missions.

“AMAS continues to prove itself as a valuable asset for our military by safely operating in complex environments,” Hasse says. “We believe that AMAS is ready to move forward toward the ultimate goal of widespread fielding across multiple military applications.”

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) sponsored the EWE, while the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) managed it.