Rheinmetall to supply Mission Master SP UGVs to Japan for testing

The Mission Master SP UGV (pictured above) features a bay that can be equipped with a variety of payloads such as remote weapon stations and masts equipped with sensors, and it is fitted with localisation and navigation sensors for remote and autonomous control. (Rheinmetall)

German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has signed a “multimillion-dollar” contract with the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) to supply three Mission Master SP wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) for testing, Rheinmetall said in a press release on 8 April.

Rheinmetall said it has partnered with Japanese contractor Marubeni Aerospace to supply the UGVs – which will be equipped with different payload modules, including cargo, surveillance, and a remote controlled weapon station – to the JGSDF in January 2025.

The contract also includes a long-term support and training programme, as well as spare parts, Rheinmetall added.

In late March, the JGSDF announced that it intends to procure UGVs to strengthen unmanned defence capabilities and to gain asymmetric “superiority on the ground while limiting human losses”.

As a part of this, the service said it plans to conduct trials on various UGVs to “accelerate consideration toward [their] full-scale introduction” into the JGSDF.

The JGSDF added that it will procure various UGVs such as THeMIS manufactured by Estonian company Milrem, Mission Master SP, and the Vision60 manufactured by the US's Ghost Robotics to conduct testing on them.

The UGVs will be delivered to the JGSDF by local suppliers such as Marubeni Aerospace and S.T.Japan, the service added.