Japan orders three Mission Master UGVs
The Mission Master SP has been purchased by several NATO countries. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, the Mission Master Silent Partner (SP) is an eight-wheeled UGV designed to fulfil various logistics and battlefield support roles. Since 2017, several countries, including the UK, Netherlands and an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, have made purchases for trials and development purposes.
Japan has placed a mulit-million-dollar order for three Mission Master SP UGvs from Rheinmetall Canada with systems to be delivered in partnership with Marubeni Aerospace and tested by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
The platforms will be expected to be delivered early 2025 and the contract has included a long-term support and training programme, as well as spare parts. It has been believed to be the first UGV of the standard to be evaluated by the force.
The Mission Master SP was the first UGV to be developed by Rheinmetall Canada in 2017 and has since been deployed during multiple live military exercises by land forces, including the German, US, Dutch and Polish armies. Various NATO partners, such as the UK and the US have also acquired this UGV.
In June 2023, a Mission Master took part in a major two-day trial of large UGVs at the Estonian Military Academy to evaluate the technology capabilities and produce a report on the event's findings which remains confidential.
In September of the same year, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment awarded Rheinmetall the contract months after the company took part in Artic mobility trials in Finland, where the autonomy and mobility of the Mission Master XT were put to the test. In August, the USMC trialled Mission Master SP UGVs during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 in Australia.
Like other platforms in the Rheinmetall Mission Master family, the SP vehicle is driven by Rheinmetall PATH, an AI-powered navigation system that can be installed on any vehicle. This agnostic suite of sensors and perception algorithms has been designed to enable the Mission Master vehicles to navigate autonomously through challenging environments.
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