Army wants unmanned ground vehicle for ‘last tactical mile’ The Army is looking for an autonomous, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to supply frontline troops and evacuate wounded personnel across “the most dangerous and logistically complex” segment of the battlefield, according to a government notice posted Thursday. “The last tactical mile” is the final space between support units and forward lines where equipment, ammunition, supplies and casualties pass “under the greatest threat from enemy observation and fires,” officials wrote. It is an overwhelmingly deadly area, as demonstrated by the grinding, drone-saturated war between Russia and Ukraine, but critical to traverse for resupply and medical evacuations. The Army, which has already been testing UGVs (in some limited cases for years), is looking to expand its stable of ground drones as technology advances and their need becomes increasingly stark in the face of casualty-heavy land operations of the modern era. “The modern battlefield is characterized by persistent enemy surveillance and rapid application of lethal effects at and behind the forward line of troops (FLOT), making any movement to and from the FLOT highly vulnerable,” officials wrote in the notice. “This environment challenges commanders’ ability to resupply units and evacuate casualties.” The UGV the Army is requesting via a commercial solutions opening contracting pathway will be centered around supporting a dismounted rifle platoon or company headquarters, according to the notice. It needs to have two primary functions: transport cargo and evacuate at least two casualties without exacerbating their injuries. “This dual use UGV shall feature a configurable payload to meet the dynamic needs of maneuver formations,” officials wrote, and should be able to resupply and casevac “with minimal reconfiguration.” The notice did not specify how much total weight the UGV should be able to carry or how far it would need to travel under