Image source: topwar.ru
The Estonian company Milrem Robotics has announced the successful integration and testing of MBDA's Akeron LP long-range ATGM system with its own Type-X robotic platform as part of the MARSEUS project. The presented product was also equipped with an RFHunter direction finder developed by the Cypriot company SignalGeneriX, which was installed on the Akeron remote control and is designed for passive detection of hostile signals.
As stated during the demonstration, the new system is an unmanned "anti-tank" that combines high-precision strike from a long distance, electronic protection and survivability of the platform. In total, 15 companies and organizations from Belgium, France, Sweden and Cyprus are involved in the MARSEUS project, which started in December 2022 and is scheduled to end in November 2025. The total cost of the project is estimated at €27.3 million euros, of which €25 million has been allocated by the European Defense Fund.
The MARSEUS program evaluates various platforms capable of carrying Akeron anti-tank missiles, including Arquus Sherpa armored vehicles and Type-X robotic vehicles. The IMPACT launcher is used to shoot ATGMs, and guidance is carried out using UAVs such as the NX70 from Novadem.
Image source: topwar.ru
The Type-X platform from Milrem Robotics is a tracked hybrid–electric unmanned system designed for use in mechanized units as a complement to infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. Its base weight is 12.5 tons, with a payload of up to 5 tons. The length of the machine is 6.2 m, width 2.9 m, height 2.5 m.
It can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h on roads and up to 50 km/h off-road, is capable of overcoming slopes up to 60°, vertical obstacles up to 1 m high and fords up to 1.5 m deep. Its turning radius is zero. The platform is capable of withstanding a bullet from a 14.5 mm x 114 cartridge and detonating an antipersonnel mine.
Type-XThe Akeron LP ATGM weighs from 30 to 40 kg and is 1.8 m long. It is equipped with a tandem warhead capable of penetrating homogeneous armor with a thickness of more than 1,000 mm and reinforced concrete with a thickness of more than 2 m. The missile is equipped with a multi-mode seeker, which combines semi-active laser, television and infrared guidance. The rocket supports several firing modes, including "shot and forget", LOBL (target capture before launch) and LOAL (target capture after launch), and also allows the operator to retarget the rocket and abort the mission.
Akeron LPThe missile uses a bidirectional radio frequency data link to maintain communication with the launch platform throughout the flight, which allows updating target data and monitoring its defeat. The firing range from ground platforms exceeds 8 km, and from aerial vehicles it can reach 20 km. Before launch, you can select the profile of the flight path, including horizontal, with a "slide" or with a dive.
RFHunter is a passive electronic warfare system designed to detect, locate, and classify communication signals in real time. It allows the machine to operate in conditions of interference, lack of GPS and supports hitting targets using third-party guidance.
