Oshkosh receives $29.9 mn contract for ROGUE autonomy

Oshkosh Defense has received a $29.9 million contract modification from the US Marine Corps to integrate autonomous technology into the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires), according to a 13th January press release.

Oshkosh has partnered with Forterra, a company specialising in ground-based autonomy for the contract, which is expected to deliver vehicles in the course of 2025. The ROGUE vehicles will be fitted with Forterra’s AutoDrive system as well as the company’s software stack, enabling the vehicles to drive autonomously on and off-road rather than the leader-follower system that they have used to date, according to Forterra.

“Fielding self-driving ground autonomy on ROGUE-Fires is crucial to the Marines’ modernization plans and Forterra is proud to partner with Oshkosh Defense on a system that will reduce casualties and improve our warfighters’ ability to fight and win,” said Christian Seifert, Head of Robotic Missile Systems at Forterra.

‍A low-rate initial production contract, valued at $39.6 million for the ROGUE-Fires platform was awarded in 2023 with an additional order valued at $40 million placed in 2024. This followed the delivery of six prototypes in 2023, which were used for a series of firing trials. They are designed to fire Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missiles, for which the US DoD signed an approximately $1 billion contract in late 2024.

Tech profile: ROGUE-Fires

This video from Forterra explains how some of the company’s technology works. 

The ROGUE vehicle is based on the JLTV chassis and running gear with the cab removed and a launcher mounted at the rear of the platform for the Naval Strike Missiles, which together make NMESIS – the Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System. It is designed to provide the USMC with an over-the-horizon weapon system for use against adversary ships, allowing them to deploy marines to unexpected littoral areas and provide dispersed lethality. 

The original ROGUE-Fires platform is designed to be tele-operated; essentially requiring a marine to remotely operate the vehicle. It also included a leader-follower capability, which is typically used to describe a process where uncrewed vehicles follow a crewed vehicle’s route, reducing the number of drivers needed. The Forterra AutoDrive system includes LiDAR and optical sensors as well as the company’s software suite, it is designed to be used on- and off-road and has been adopted for a variety of use cases. LiDAR works by emitting pulses of laser light and measuring the time it takes for the light to reflect back from a target, typically in the near-infrared spectrum. It is a common technology now used in driverless and regular cars. AutoDrive is overseen by TerraLink, an autonomous platform command and control system that provides safety and oversight of the autonomous systems. 

Calibre comment

The potential use cases for autonomous ground vehicles, or robotic combat vehicles, are many and varied. They may offer new tactical opportunities and certainly seem to be a valid option for reconnaissance-by-fire operations or deploying troops forward of their supporting formation. This seems to be a likely avenue for the NMESIS concept. Deploying ROGUE-Fires platforms that can operate autonomously and remotely with human oversight would allow the USMC to hold Chinese vessels in the Indo-Pacific at risk, whilst managing the risk that its troops are exposed to by being separated from their supporting fleet. If you would like to read more about the potential roles for autonomous platforms in the land domain, please do read our guest article from Simon Jackson: Robotic Combat Vehicles: Roles to really change battle outcomes.