How many uncrewed vehicles are actually autonomous as opposed to remotely operated? Our VANTAGE Automated Turret System (ATS) is designed to do everything apart from making the final decision on when to fire. It finds, identifies, tracks and prepares to fire, then requires human input to order engagement.
VANTAGE is designed to be capable of autonomous operation from the ground up, so has no need to be adapted for people, such as not needing armour – although it could be added for greater survivability – or cooling. It fits on a standard vehicle ‘azimuth’ ring, which most combat vehicles use, as well as being less than 450mm high, so very low profile and therefore presenting a smaller target to enemies.
As a BAE System Spokesperson, explained, “With no need to adapt the vehicle and turret for people to sit inside, we’ve got a lot more flexibility over ammunition handling and storage. The only thing we really need to protect is the electronics, so the weight and space savings are huge over a standard turret. We can also more easily elevate the gun for engaging aerial targets, since the gun breech doesn’t have to avoid people in a crew compartment.”
Being automated using AI technologies, VANTAGE can also work with information that’s beyond the comprehension of human senses. Its sensor system can not only see multi-spectral wavelengths invisible to the naked eye – in itself not unusual for a targeting system – but can also use that raw multi-spectral information to help identify the target. Most systems ‘downgrade’ that same information to make it understandable for human observers and in doing so remove information that could, for example, be used to detect camouflaged targets.
In May 2025, BAE Systems test fired the VANTAGE turret, integrated with a Slovenian Army Patria AMV in Slovenia. The turret performed very well in its first test firing, effectively engaging targets out to 750m, proving the various turret systems function as intended and offering confidence to potential customers
BAE Systems spokesperson further explained how the company intends VANTAGE to act as a force multiplier, allowing one person to manage several vehicles and a variety of payloads: “This means you can operate a larger force with your existing trained people.”
“We’re initially putting VANTAGE on our ATLAS uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV), which uses the evolved autonomous driving, navigation and perception technology developed and tested for the M113 Optionally Crewed Combat Vehicle with the Australian Army. This has already been proven to be able to follow waypoints while avoiding obstacles. We’re also creating an intelligent target detection, tracking and classification system where VANTAGE automatically looks for targets in all directions at the same time, identifies them based on visual identity and multi-spectral signature, then presents to the operator to confirm the target identity and to approve or deny engagement,” added the spokesperson.
“We’re initially putting VANTAGE on our ATLAS uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV), which uses the evolved autonomous driving, navigation and perception technology developed and tested for the M113 Optionally Crewed Combat Vehicle with the Australian Army. This has already been proven to be able to follow waypoints while avoiding obstacles. We’re also creating an intelligent target detection, tracking and classification system where VANTAGE automatically looks for targets in all directions at the same time, identifies them based on visual identity and multi-spectral signature, then presents to the operator to confirm the target identity and to approve or deny engagement”
Further elaborating, the BAE Systems spokesperson said, “We’re working with a company based in Canada on the targeting system, Terrasense Analytics, which specialises in computer vision and AI deep learning to identify and track targets in cluttered environments and poor weather. They have built up highly accurate identification systems for military use, so can identify a range of military vehicles on land, sea and in the air.”
In May 2025, BAE Systems test fired the VANTAGE turret, integrated with a Slovenian Army Patria AMV in Slovenia. The turret performed very well in its first test firing, effectively engaging targets out to 750m, proving the various turret systems function as intended and offering confidence to potential customers that the highly automated, low profile design works using the 25mm cannon and can be scaled up to 30mm calibre if required.
Spokesperson, BAE Systems
