Pentagon has awarded a contract to build a high-risk technology prototype of reconnaissance armored vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps.

According to a statement, the U.S. Office of Naval Research in Arlington has awarded an $18,9 million contract for the armed reconnaissance vehicle or ARV.

“This contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the total cumulative value of this contract to $20,4 million,” said in a statement.

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Work will be performed at the contractor’s facility in Reston, Virginia, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2021.

Pentagon also noted that the programme, called “at the edge”, covers design prototype vehicle that exceeds the Marine’s current lethality and survivability requirements, but also include future technologies, like autonomous operations and robotics.

As foreign peer adversaries catch up or even exceed the U.S.’s military capabilities, the U.S. Department of Defense is eager to keep pace or preferably “leap” ahead with technology. This means the team, led by SAIC, are incorporating technologies that may not be widely available or even exist yet. That is one of the principles of the SAIC.

The new Marine’s armed reconnaissance vehicle will provide reconnaissance capability. The primary mission equipment is an observation package. Sensors include a thermal imager, daylight camera and a laser rangefinder. Combined with the vehicle’s GPS and inertial navigation system the operator can accurately mark targets or points of interest and pass that data to the digital battlefield network.

The at-the-edge variant of new combat vehicle will integrate innovative technology, but also building upon the existing internal research and development.

It is expected that new ARV could toa possible replacement for the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) in light armored reconnaissance battalions.