Northrop Grumman Corporation has launched CUTLASS, its latest generation unmanned ground vehicle
(UGV), expanding its range of industry-leading capabilities in unmanned
systems for the remote handling and surveillance of hazardous threats.
CUTLASS
has been designed, developed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman in
the U.K., and includes significant advances in technology and
performance and a range of features that provides state-of-the-art
capabilities for national security and resilience applications.
“Our
CUTLASS vehicle is setting new standards in the UGV market and
significantly enhancing the ability of users to handle hazardous threats
safely. It is more dexterous, cost effective and, as a package, four
times faster than any other UGV,” said Greg Roberts, managing director,
defence and security, Northrop Grumman Information Systems Europe. “The
vehicle is already in service across the U.K. and has proven itself to
be robust and capable in the most demanding environments. We look
forward to exploiting the potential opportunities for exporting this
capability into international markets.”
CUTLASS will be on display
in Northrop Grumman’s exhibit at the Counter Terror Expo, where it will
also show its range of capabilities in daily live scenario-based
demonstrations. The international exhibition and conference Counter
Terror Expo takes place at the National Hall, Olympia, London, April
24-25.
CUTLASS offers the latest technology in a modular design,
enabling the user to deal safely with the full range of hazardous
threats from a distance, including the detection and disposal of
explosive ordnance. Its highly versatile design means that it is capable
of accommodating a wide range of payloads, sensors and tools. It
carries all of the tools and sensors it needs to perform the full range
of operations required for explosive ordnance disposal and other
applications, avoiding the need to deploy two standard UGVs. CUTLASS
saves up to 50 percent on the through-life costs when compared to owning
and operating two standard UGVs.
The manipulator arm is equipped
with a three-fingered, state-of-the-art gripper and has nine degrees of
freedom for greater movement and agility inside limited spaces. With a
specialised sensing system it provides a high level of control and
dexterity to minimize damage to property and preserve forensic evidence.
Using
CUTLASS, a hazardous situation can be restored to normal up to four
times more quickly than with any other UGV. The combination of the speed
of the wheeled platform, which can reach speeds of up to 12 kph, and
the ability of CUTLASS to carry multiple tools and sensors negates the
need to return to the incident control point, thus saving considerable
time. The robot is able to creep along at deliberately slow speeds for
delicate operations and may accelerate to high speeds to enable rapid
travel. The six-wheeled design offers mobility on all types of hard and
soft terrain and in all weather conditions.
Northrop Grumman’s
unmanned ground vehicle business has been established in Coventry, U.K.,
for more than 20 years. Today, the company designs, develops and
manufactures in the U.K. some of the most capable and reliable unmanned ground vehicles available, from the Wheelbarrow bomb disposal robot to the latest vehicle, CUTLASS.
Northrop Grumman has more than 2,000 unmanned ground vehicle systems in operation around the world.
Northrop
Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative
systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cybersecurity,
C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial
customers worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment