Oshkosh Defense says it is to continue its work for the U.S. military's Cargo Unmanned Ground Vehicle project under an Office of Naval Research contract.

The Cargo UGV project, begun in 2010 by the U.S. Marine Corps, is to explore how UGV technology could be integrated into the Marine Corps' tactical wheeled vehicle fleet.

Oshkosh said two Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements were upgraded with its TerraMax systems which enable unmanned operations. Government evaluations, which included live force experiments, proved positive and advanced development of concepts of operation for robotic systems in combat environments.

"The Cargo UGV project has pushed unmanned technology into the TWV (tactical wheeled vehicle) realm like no other effort, and the results have proven how mature and ready TerraMax UGV technology is for use in the field," said Chris Yakes, vice president of Advanced Products Engineering at Oshkosh Corporation. "We are eager to continue work with the ONR to further demonstrate the readiness level of UGVs and the interoperability of TerraMax technology with other mission systems."

Under a contract through the Robotics Technology Consortium, Oshkosh and the National Robotics Engineering Center will work with the ONR and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. They will integrate ONR-specified counter-improvised explosive device technologies onto the Cargo UGV MTVRs.

Oshkosh said its TerraMax UGV system will be enhanced for incorporation of counter-IED payloads, such as ground-penetrating radar and mine roller systems and will provide over-the-horizon situational awareness to accompanying manned vehicles.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.