Renault is also launching land drones in partnership with John Cockerill

Renault is definitely extremely attractive among arms manufacturers. After Turgis&Gaillard then Thales, the automobile manufacturer has embarked on a new partnership, this time with the Belgian group John Cockerill with whom it is developing and designing a remotely operated and very versatile ground drone, Forefront Concept, which is the size of a city car. “Forefront Concept opens the way to new intervention capabilities in both defense and civilian areas, the platform allowing missions to be carried out remotely in high-risk or difficult-to-access areas,” explain the two groups in a joint press release published this Tuesday. For the Managing Director of John Cockerill, Jean-Luc Maurange, “Forefront Concept illustrates the emergence of a new generation of terrestrial robotic systems, born from the convergence of two major industrial know-how”.

Forefront Concept is currently being tested, particularly on its all-terrain crossing capabilities, as part of the Pendragon program. This project is strategic for the French Army which will create a robotic combat unit (URC) integrated and augmented by artificial intelligence. This unit will be operational in 2027. The feedback from the tests is positive, Renault explains. Forefront Concept will also participate in several exercises and tests in the coming weeks, to refine the concept and contribute to the definition of new needs in terms of robotization.

70% components from the automotive industry

Forefront Concept combines the know-how of Renault Group in the design of mobile platforms and their large-scale industrialization on the one hand and the operational expertise of John Cockerill in the defense industry on the other hand. Around 70% of the components on this platform come from the automotive industry. Which makes this terrestrial drone, on which all costs have been optimized, very attractive on a commercial level. This modular ground drone can be quickly industrialized on a large scale and at controlled costs thanks to the concepts dear to Renault of “design to cost” and “design to manufacturing”.

This approach optimizes, from the upstream design, costs, development times and large-scale production capacity, while relying on a robust supply chain. Thanks to its expertise of more than fifteen years, Renault Group also provides recognized know-how in engines and batteries to guarantee a high level of performance on all types of terrain.

As for John Cockerill, he designed the teleoperation and autonomy functions of this concept in a complex environment, and brings his know-how in the militarization of vehicles, the integration of mission systems and operational support. Its expertise in armored vehicles thus contributes to the robustness, survivability and adaptation of Forefront Concept to the constraints of the terrain.

Machine-translated from French