Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robots to Aid U.K. MOD Urban Operations

L3Harris Technologies will deliver up to 50 medium-sized T4™ explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots to the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) as part of a new agreement. 

The EOD robots will advance MOD operations by providing the capabilities to eliminate explosive threats that are located within confined urban spaces. 

The $18 million contract includes providing robots, in-country support, maintenance and training. This follows L3Harris’ successful delivery of Project STARTER, a program that replaced the legacy fleet of large EOD robots with 122 T7™ systems that have been fully operational since 2019.

This contract award with the U.K. follows L3Harris’ successful award for T4 and T7 variants to the Australian Defence Force. These robots will be delivered to Australia starting in mid-2024, as part of their Land-154 program to enhance EOD unit capabilities in improvised explosive device neutralization and exploitation, as well as route clearance. 

The U.S. Air Force also ordered more than 100 T7 robots to support their EOD missions around the world, many of which have been delivered and are now fully operational. 

Lt. Gen. Simon Hamilton, Director General Land, Defence Equipment and Support, U.K. MOD, commented; “Like the T7, the T4 robots will play an integral role in enhancing the EOD capabilities leveraged by the British Army.

“Critical to the MOD’s land modernization ambitions is the prioritization of agile, modular and highly capable technology built to tackle the demands of the future threat environment. The versatile T4 is a significant step forward in achieving this.”  

Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris, added; “We’re ready to deliver these critical systems to the U.K. armed forces for their EOD operators. The T4 robots offer many of the same capabilities and intuitive control as the T7 robot but in a more compact footprint, allowing operators to safely access threats in much smaller spaces.”