T-72 converted to unmanned tank target
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions' Micro Systems has converted a Russian T-72 tank to operate in an unmanned configuration, the company announced on 13 April.
Micro Systems converted the T-72 in response to a US Army need for a tank target for training purposes. The conversion allows the tank to be controlled by the Army Ground Aerial Target Control System (AGATCS) - a vehicle and datalink agnostic control system that has been interfaced to a wide variety of US Army air, ground, and sea surface target vehicles.
A number of challenges needed to be overcome for the conversion: the dual tiller steering system required high levels of force and displacement; and the operating environment was harsh, with high levels of vibration, temperature, and dust. Remote control was facilitated by the ability of AGATCS to control a wide variety of vehicles with highly disparate control requirements.
Kevin Ferguson, senior vice president of Kratos Micro Systems, said: 'Micro Systems is proud to support the US Army's targets management office with new capabilities to provide highly threat representative target vehicles to support their efforts to develop capabilities to keep our homeland and warriors safe.'
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