Polaris, ARA and Neya Systems collaborate to provide Team Polaris MRZR X platform to U.S. Army

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The U.S. Army will utilize an “elite platform” for its Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET) program. The platform is the result of a collaboration between Polaris Industries Inc., Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) and Neya Systems LLC.

​Known as the Team Polaris MRZR X, the platform will “evolve squad mobility with advanced unmanned systems technology from ARA and the pioneering and unsurpassed autonomous systems behavior of Neya Systems.”

“The MRZR X provides a modular, multi-mission platform for the U.S. Army’s SMET program to provide squad overmatch, no matter what the mission. It is based on the very familiar Polaris MRZR platform – and creates an optionally manned platform,” says John Olson, PhD, vice president and general manager of Polaris Government and Defense.

“Off-road autonomy is challenging, but no one does off-road better than Polaris. And absolutely no one does off-road robotics and autonomy better than ARA and Neya Systems.”

The modular MRZR is described as a “prolific and preferred platform” among infantry units not only in the United States, but also in more than two dozen allied countries, which helps make its “integration and the transition from manned to unmanned vehicles easier for the Army and the soldier.”

The MRZR X has extra capabilities for the soldiers that go above and beyond SMET base requirements, and at its core, it maintains the same mission profile that the Army is used to.

“With the combined skills and expertise of Neya Systems and ARA, we’re able to bring world-class robotic solutions to Team Polaris to provide the U.S. soldier with advanced capabilities, a lightened physical load, and increased situational awareness to equip them for the multi-domain battlefield,” says ARA’s President and CEO, Rob Sues, PhD.

An “employee-owned scientific research and engineering company,” ARA acquired Neya Systems earlier this year.

Neya Systems develops unmanned systems for defense, homeland security, and commercial users.

Polaris is a leader in global powersports that has been in business for more than 60 years.