BAE Systems Australia has confirmed the successful test firing of an automated turret system for the ATLAS CCV autonomous combat vehicle.

BAE Systems Australia has confirmed the successful test firing of an automated turret system for the ATLAS CCV autonomous combat vehicle.

The Autonomous Tactical Light Armour System (ATLAS) Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV) was previously unveiled at the most recent Land Forces 2024 exhibition in Melbourne last year.

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The ATLAS CCV is expected to operate using high levels of autonomy both on and off-road, complementing crewed counterparts such as infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, at a lower cost. In addition, the vehicle is expected to field modular variants such as a littoral option, a 30-millimetre armed variant or a module equipped with rockets.

“The VANTAGE Automated Turret System (ATS) firing accuracy demonstrated excellent performance with tight groupings and successful target engagement out to initial ranges of 750 metres,” according to a statement made by BAE Systems Australia.

“Following its highly publicised global debut at the Land Forces 2024 exhibition, ATLAS CCV is being marketed to armies to perform the high-risk ‘dirty and dangerous’ tasks normally undertaken by manned armoured vehicles such as direct fire support, obstacle clearance, combat reconnaissance and very short-range air defence.

“A big thank you for the dedication of our turret team and the crew at Valhalla Turrets of Slovenia.”

The VANTAGE Automated Turret System is understood to use a 25mm Bushmaster chaingun.

BAE Systems Australia integrated defence and autonomy systems director Kisa Christensen said the testing in Slovenia delivered results beyond expectations and opened the way for future trials once re-integrated with ATLAS.

“We’ve come away from this test firing knowing that the VANTAGE ATS fires accurately and performs exceedingly well, demonstrating excellent performance, offering our customers the ability to integrate VANTAGE with a range of crewed and uncrewed platforms, and offering a lower acquisition cost through the adaptive reuse of legacy cannons already in service,” Ms Christensen said.

“Also, we’ve seen the performance of VANTAGE successfully verified during the conduct of the Factory Acceptance Testing period.”