The Gladiator TUGV will provide the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a tele-operated unmanned ground vehicle for remote combat tasks, increasing survivability by identifying and neutralizing threats and reducing risk to Marines. Gladiator will provide Marines with remote, unmanned scout, reconnaissance and surveillance while the operator remains concealed at a distance.

"United Defense is pleased that the Joint Program Office for Robotic Systems and the Marine Corps have selected our team to provide Marines with enhanced battlefield capability, and we are committed to leading the transition of unmanned ground vehicle technology to our troops as a force multiplier and to increase survivability," said Elmer Doty, Vice President and General Manager, United Defense Ground Systems Division.

"The United States Congress mandated that one third of all military vehicles be unmanned by 2015," said Donald Smith, director of economic development for Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh.

"We are pleased that the first major step in responding to this challenge is based on Carnegie Mellon's technology and will be manufactured in western Pennsylvania."

"This is terrific news for our region," said U.S. Rep. John Murtha. "It continues to demonstrate Carnegie Mellon's leadership in robotics, brings a major new line of work to the United Defense plant in Fayette County and positions our region to play a strong role in manufacturing of unmanned ground vehicles, which will be used more and more by our military."

Carnegie Mellon's NREC leads a team that includes United Defense as principal subcontractor and teammate. Carnegie Mellon will lead the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the program as prime contractor, working closing with United Defense to draw on its experience in program management, engineering, integration and integrated logistics support tasks as Gladiator development moves toward production and fielding.

Carnegie Mellon and United Defense will capitalize on the strengths of both organizations to ensure success during the SDD phase and a smooth transition to production.

Other members of the NREC Gladiator team include General Dynamics Armaments and Technical Products (GDATP), Tadiran Electronic Systems, and Timoney Technologies Limited.

Carnegie Mellon and United Defense will establish a combined project office in Pittsburgh, co-locating key university and United Defense personnel at NREC. During the production phase, work is planned for United Defense's Fayette County, Pa. facility. Ultimately, 200 Gladiator vehicles could be built for the Marine Corps.

The same team recently completed a highly successful prototype development program - including mobility and Scout demonstrations - that validated the Carnegie Mellon team design under the ONR development program. The team's Gladiator design meets all key performance parameters; the prototype developed under the recently concluded ONR program already meets many critical requirements.

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