What will be the next weapons in the evolution of mankind's weapons?
According to military scientists, the future will see the dominance of modern automatic weapons
In Germany, defense company Rheinmetall recently announced it has developed a new robotic ground vehicle based on the Wiesel platform
known as the "Autonomous Combat Warrior Wiesel"
On a twitter post Rheinmetall said, "Rheinmetall presents Autonomous Combat Warrior Wiesel: Mature platform meets high tech autonomy advancement."
Accordingly, the Autonomous Combat Warrior Wiesel (ACW) is driven by a state of the art autonomous kit
which is applicable to a variety of both tracked and wheeled vehicle systems such as Boxer, Lynx or HX tactical trucks.
The new vehicle can be operated manually, remote-controlled or in full autonomous mode by programming waypoints on a tablet
It can avoid obstacles autonomously and it can also follow a lead vehicle in convoy mode
Next-generation features include detecting soldier behavior and off-road terrain
The ultimate goal is improving soldier safety by keeping operators out of harm’s way
Under the Autonomous Combat Warrior program, the aim is to develop advanced sovereign robotics and automated vehicle technologies
This will create a local automated military vehicle capability
Autonomous Combat Warrior’s goal is to fundamentally change the way in which land vehicles support military operations
by transforming a vehicle from tool to teammate to provide currently unachievable levels of soldier protection
support and tactical advantage
The program will focus on the automation of driving capabilities
The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier
It is quite similar to historical scouting tankettes in size, form and function, and is the only true modern tankette in use in Western Europe
The Wiesel 2 is a stretched version of the Wiesel 1, with a fifth roadwheel
The engine was changed to a 1.9L Volkswagen in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection and intercooler
giving 109 hp coupled to a ZF automatic transmission
The Wiesel 2 is generally bigger, faster and stronger than the Wiesel 1
with advanced features for the protection of the crew such as enhanced armour, an air conditioning system, and NBC protection
The Wiesel has been used in several of the Bundeswehr’s missions abroad