European governments preparing for UGV procurement negotiations
European defence ministries will be looking to enter procurement talks with contractors for UGVs in the near-future.
06 August 2010
European governments are likely to be undertaking large
procurement negotiations in the coming years as demand for unmanned
ground vehicles (UGVs) increases.
According to research by Frost & Sullivan (F&S), the UGV
market will see burgeoning levels of activity between 2011 and 2016
as nations across Europe consider modernisation initiatives for
their ground forces.
UGVs are robotic platforms that are operated remotely and can be
controlled over networks - for reconnaissance, patrol or to remove
the need for humans in hazardous situations such as bomb
disposal.
The analyst claims that the European UGV market has remained
niche in the past, but this will change as the technology becomes
an "integral" part of so-called network-centric warfare.
As this happens, European defence contractors and governments
will become increasingly likely to hold procurement talks.
F&S analyst Shyam Srinivasan said: "The ability of remotely
patrolling a group of vehicles and strategising battlefield
formations has evoked an interest to graduate to unmanned artillery
in the future."
In the UK, the Defence Procurement Agency is an executive
division of the Ministry of Defence tasked with negotiating the
procurement of equipment for the UK Armed Forces.
It has a budget of £6 billion annually and manages hundreds of
projects, including Typhoon, Skynet and Future Carrier.