During the AUSA Global Force conference, an Army leader revealed plans to potentially integrate a drone and robotics platoon into its armored brigade combat teams.

Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, stated that a proposal for this initiative has been submitted to the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth for consideration in the service’s force design update.

The proposed platoons, known as robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) platoons, aim to enhance the Army’s capabilities through increased utilization of robotic systems, particularly ground robots.

While the exact number of platoons each armored brigade combat team should have is still under consideration, the Army is currently conducting experiments in this regard, Defense One reported.

With 11 armored brigade combat teams in the active force and five in the national guard, the Army could potentially field 16 RAS platoons if each brigade were assigned one.

Moreover, extending the deployment of RAS platoons to other types of brigade combat teams, such as infantry or Stryker brigades, could further increase their deployment across the Army.

Written by B.C. Begley