The Robotic Combat Vehicle could use some of the same components as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, including the software that powers autonomous features, according to the director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team. The RCV, which is expected to come in three sizes, will have a "symbiotic" relationship with the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, the planned Bradley replacement, Maj. Gen. Ross Coffman told Inside Defense in a July 29 interview. Autonomy features for each vehicle are expected to come from the Robotic Technology Kernel, a common library of software modules that the service is developing across its robotic systems, he said. The vehicles will also use the Warfighter Machine Interface, a common control software that the Army plans to deploy across its robotic ground platforms. On the hardware side, radios, sensors, chemical detectors, smoke generators, weapon platforms and other payloads could be shared, according to Coffman. The Army has seen significant capability advances in radios, which will be necessary to maintain constant control over the vehicles.
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