Vanguard Magazine

arCtiC www.vanguardcanada.com AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 23 other words, both states realize the ex- traordinary costs associated with building infrastructure and operating in the Arctic. Both SSE and DoD's policies mention the importance of NORAD modernization, for example (which is a shorthand way of noting that the aged North Warning Sys- tem needs replacing), yet nowhere along the fiscal processes of either nations have funds been dedicated or allocated toward this (likely) multi-million dollar, if not multi-billion, system-of-systems in sup- port of a critical, bi-national defence re- quirement: domain awareness. Despite the rhetoric and growing anti- U.S. and anti-Canada insults (which are really directed at both countries' leaders and are expected in election years), the objectives, challenges and concerns re- garding the Arctic are very similar. And there are many more aspects of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the Arc- tic than are credited or mentioned in the strategies. For example, the United States and Canada are partners in the following: • Arctic Coastguard Forum; • Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation; • Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prepared- ness and Response Agreement; • Arctic SAR Agreement; and • US-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership 13 A careful review of the primary sources rather than of the sound bites and social media suggests that the United States and Canada have never been more cognate when it comes to their Arctic strategies. References: 1. By definition, a FONOP is not an an- nounced/scheduled event. 2. Note the USCG can fall under both Homeland Security and the U.S. De- partment of Defense depending on the missions. The USCG has defined, re- sourced and operationalized statutory law-enforcement/security missions. In contrast, the Canadian Coast Guard is always a civilian safety organization and therefore is not analysed as part of the "military" Arctic strategies 3. Department of Defense Arctic Strat- egy: 2019: 5. 4. SSE, 2017: 51. 5. Department of Defense Arctic Strat- egy: 2019: 7. 6. USCG Arctic Strategy Book, 2019: 12. 7. USCG Arctic Strategy Book, 2019:14. 8. SSE, 2017: 50. 9. Ibid. 10. Department of Defense Arctic Strat- egy: 2019: 3. 11. USCG, 2019: 6. 12. DoD Arctic Strategy, 2019: 8. 13. While negotiated under the Obama ad- ministration, it is still on the "books". take decisions and to execute operations promptly and competently is at the heart of the development program. The num- ber and types of functions that can be executed by the Mission Master is rapidly increasing: neural network-based learn- ing, visual object recognition, and so on. Tasks such as self-forming convoy and exchange of data between ugVs are also on the drawing board. The rheinmetall Mission Master is defi- nitely going to have an impact on how military operations are going to be con- ducted in the near future. for more information about the rheinmetall Mission Master, visit rheinmetall.ca or contact rheinmetall at robotics@rheinmetall.ca Alain Tremblay, Rheinmetall Canada's vice-president for business development. control software. This type of integration is a rheinmetall specialty and was proud- ly on display at the recent ammunition capability demo in south africa. rheinmetall showcased a new weaponized Mission Master armed with the rheinmetall fieldranger Multi weapon station and a 70 mm rocket launcher from Thales. The re- motely controlled system operated for the first time in a fully digitized scenario and reached a major milestone with an amaz- ing live firing performance. rheinmetall participated in different field trials in germany, the netherlands, the uK, and notably in Belgium where the cargo version of the Mission Master took on a number of more experienced com- peting teams in the european land robot Trial (elroB), and won the "Mule" com- petition by a landslide. rheinmetall's team continues to work tirelessly on the evolution of its ugV and particularly focuses on increasing the ve- hicle's autonomous capabilities through implementation of artificial intelligence elements. The capacity for the ugV to perspeCtive Sponsored Content in recent years, the demand for enhanced efficiency and human safety has escalated dramatically in defence operations, and unmanned systems have become increas- ingly important to militaries. remarkably versatile, the rheinmetall Mission Master is a robust unmanned ground Vehicle (ugV) with a unique all- terrain mobility. it can serve as a platform for reconnaissance and surveillance oper- ations. other frequent uses include tactical overwatch, cBrn detection, MedeVac operations, and firefighting missions. each version of the Mission Master is networked to both the argus soldier sys- tem and the rheinmetall command and Rheinmetall delivers the ultimate battlefield advantage with its Mission Master UGV Autonomous robots market is booming

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