Rheinmetall & Harbinger Partner on Military Robotic Vehicles

American Rheinmetall, a subsidiary of the Germany auto and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG, has formed a partnership with Harbinger to develop and field a series of robotic and uncrewed ground vehicles.

Harbinger is following a variety of automotive companies that look to be weighing a move into defence, including Mercedes, Volkswagen, GM and JLR. 

Both European countries and the US are upping military spending. US President Donald Trump has called for US defence spending to be increased to US$1.5tn in 2027, 50% higher than the 2026 budget.

Rheinmetall and Harbinger's partnership

According to Rheinmetall, the two companies will jointly pursue current and emerging Department of War programs as part of their partnership on robotic and uncrewed vehicles. 

Matthew Warnick, CEO of American Rheinmetall, says: “Soldiers need robotics they can trust, at a cost that lets them field them in the numbers required to win.

"Harbinger's drive-by-wire, hybrid-electric platform is one of the most autonomy-ready commercial chassis ever built in the United States and combined with American Rheinmetall's deep experience integrating mission systems for the Army, gives the DoW an attritable, sovereign, and rapidly scalable option, engineered here, built here and ready to fight.”

Areas of collaboration

Rheinmetall says initial areas of collaboration between the companies include autonomous tactical wheeled vehicles, contested-logistics resupply and robotic platforms aligned with US Army autonomy and manned-unmanned teaming priorities.

Speaking about the partnership with American Rheinmetall, John Harris, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Harbinger, says: “Harbinger has always built for the toughest commercial missions and the Warfighter's mission is the toughest of all.

“Partnering with American Rheinmetall, one of the most capable ground systems integrators serving the DoW, allows us to bring our autonomy-ready platform at a price point that makes true attritable mass possible. 

“Together, we can give soldiers robotic systems that are affordable enough to be everywhere they're needed, and tough enough to do the job when they get there. Most importantly, by taking the driver out of the vehicle with advanced autonomy and teleoperation, we can keep service men and women out of harm’s way.”

Harbinger’s Unmanned Hybrid-Electric Vehicle platform

Harbinger recently announced its new defence arm Harbinger Praesidia, which provides configurable unmanned military ground vehicles for military logistics, battlefield communications, troop transport, perimeter security and counter-drone operations.

Harbinger’s “defence platform” provides more than 500 miles of hybrid driving range and is designed to export up to 350 kilowatts of power to external systems. It has a maximum speed of 65mph.

Harbinger says that IQT, an “investment capital non-profit” initially founded by the CIA, is “a strategic investor” for Harbinger’s expansion into government and national security markets. On its website, IQT says its approach has produced solutions for the CIA, FBI and the NSA among other defence and intelligence agencies. 

Carmakers moving into defence

Harbinger is an American industrial manufacturer of electrification technologies, including all-electric and hybrid medium-duty vehicle platforms, battery and drivetrain systems and auxiliary power solutions. 

Its expansion into defence follows news that JLR, GM, Mercedes and Volkswagen are all either reportedly considering or have confirmed moves into the sector. 

Mercedes confirmed earlier this week that it has signed an MoU with TYTAN Technologies for a mobile air-defence system to target small first-person view drones.

JLR and GM are also weighing a potential move into the defence industry by building military trucks for the UK defence sector. 

In April of this year, Reuters reported that two people familiar with the matter said Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems had signed a letter of intent with Volkswagen to acquire the German automaker's plant in Osnabrueck, Germany.