Unmanned ground vehicle with effector: Diehl Defence's Ziesel fires Spike LR for the first time

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Eurospike and Diehl Defence have for the first time tested, in joint live-firing trials with the Spike LR guided missile, whether the Ziesel platform is robust enough for integration and live fire. Diehl Defence's unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is thus the first system among unmanned ground vehicles from which a modern guided missile has been successfully fired.

Interest in unmanned ground systems is currently high. With it, the need for versatile payload options is growing – above all so that soldiers can be kept out of dangerous situations for as long as possible.

The tests took five days, during which 17 guided missiles were successfully fired. A company press release states that the platform showed “impressive performance and withstood the stresses of operational use”.

Unmanned ground vehicle platform with the Platon autonomy kit

Spike LR is an anti-armour guided missile directed against armoured targets. The carrier was a revised version of the UGV, whose hardware and software have been improved compared with previous versions. The Ziesel has already been tested in the field in numerous variants, for example as a logistics variant and for casualty evacuation (CASEVAC); it is now being used as an effector carrier for the first time.

The Platon autonomy kit, also from Diehl Defence, turns the UGV into a fully autonomous system. Several armed forces, including those of Germany and Ukraine, are currently testing the Ziesel.

After completing the firing trials, the companies involved stressed that they intend to tackle the next milestones together swiftly and develop the concept further. In addition, representatives of various armed forces are to be shown in a demonstration the innovative strength and potential of the Diehl Defence UGV Ziesel in combination with Spike LR.