According to the announcement made by the American company Oshkosh Defense on April 25th, a new contract has been signed to supply more Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) vehicles to the United States Marine Corps (USMC). This contract is valued at around $40 million and will complement the contract signed in 2023 for approximately $39.5 million for the acquisition of these vehicles.
Pat Williams, the director of programs at Oshkosh Defense, stated, “Today’s award underscores the ongoing success of the ROGUE-Fires program and Oshkosh’s unwavering commitment to working hand-in-hand with the Marine Corps, understanding their mission requirements, and equipping our Marines with unmatched combat capabilities (…) The versatile ROGUE-Fires platform showcased at Modern Day Marine for the first time leverages cutting-edge technologies and enables seamless integration of a multitude of weapon systems. This platform will meet diverse mission needs for many years to come.”
While the exact number of vehicles acquired has not been disclosed, it is known that they will be allocated to the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS). Thus, the USMC will acquire an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with high off-road mobility, leveraging the design lineage of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), augmented with Oshkosh’s expertise in land-based anti-ship missile launch systems.
The ROGUE program, which gave rise to these vehicles, originated in 2021 with the aim of providing the US Navy and USMC with anti-ship capabilities against the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China. This initiative required cooperation from Raytheon and Kongsberg, with their NSM anti-ship missile, as well as Oshkosh, which provided the JLTV platform. At that time, a total of $64 million was budgeted for the US Navy, and development began based on the Marine Corps’ High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
It is worth noting that Oshkosh Defense, the company producing the ROGUE vehicles, will have a booth (No. 1915) at the Modern Day Marine event taking place in Washington DC from April 30th to May 2nd, where the capabilities of the aforementioned UGV will be showcased alongside other high-tech systems.
Image credits: USMC, Oshkosh Defense
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