Sweden has acquired a unit of the unmanned ground vehicle RIPSAW M3 from the American company Textron Systems. This is stated by the manufacturer in a press release. The deal is the first in Europe for this particular platform.
The RIPSAW M3 is a tracked, remotely operated ground vehicle developed by Textron Systems and its subsidiary Howe & Howe. It is designed to carry various payloads and systems, including sensors and weapon systems.
The system features hybrid-electric propulsion and is built to operate in rough terrain and under demanding conditions. According to the manufacturer, the platform has a range of over 290 kilometres and is equipped with rubber tracks and high ground clearance.
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has not publicly commented on the deal, and no details about the purpose of the demonstrator, test plans, or potential future operational application have been announced.
The RIPSAW family has been developed in several versions and is also featured in American trials with armed ground robots. Textron states that the company is currently focusing on offering platforms for various types of integration, in both manned and unmanned roles.
In recent years, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has shown interest in the development and evaluation of ground-based, unmanned systems within the framework of technology demonstration and future capability development. FMV also purchased a demonstrator from Milrem Robotics, as NDS reported in June 2024.