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Deployment

Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at Fort Hood, Texas

~10.5-ton tracked hybrid-electric robotic combat vehicle (with Howe & Howe); four M5 prototypes delivered to the US Army for RCV-Medium. The lighter Ripsaw M3 was reported as the 2025 RCV down-select variant.

Ripsaw M5 (RCV) by Textron Systems · Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified · Defense UGV

Track Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at Fort Hood, Texas

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Soldier Operational Experiment at Fort Hood from June-August 2022 with RCV-M prototypes including Ripsaw M5. Also used for autonomous breaching exercise with 36th Engineer Brigade in October 2025 as part of DARPA RACER program.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at Fort Hood, Texas.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-09
Model
Ripsaw M5 (RCV)
Company
Textron Systems
Location
Fort Hood, Texas
Status
pilot
First seen
2022-06-01
ID
edf03f9a-001f-491a-9f5b-7f9c994d256b

Timeline

  1. Jun 2022
    First recorded
    Ripsaw M5 (RCV) first documented operating at Fort Hood, Texas.
  2. Aug 2026
    Current status: pilot, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Operates worldwide

Ripsaw M5 (RCV) is deployed globally rather than at a single verified site, so there is no map pin.

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Ripsaw M5 (RCV) operates in Fort Hood, Texas. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (1)

  1. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/03/17/army-has-timeline-when-soldiers-will-test-robotic-combat-vehicles.html
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-09

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: defense_ugv

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-government-record
Government record

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at Fort Hood, Texas.

Common questions

What is the Ripsaw M5 (RCV) deployment at Fort Hood, Texas?
Ripsaw M5 (RCV), built by Textron Systems, is recorded as a deployment at Fort Hood, Texas on the DEPLOY registry. Textron Systems operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at Fort Hood, Texas?
Textron Systems, the manufacturer of Ripsaw M5 (RCV), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Ripsaw M5 (RCV) deployment at Fort Hood, Texas go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting June 1, 2022 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the Ripsaw M5 (RCV) deployment at Fort Hood, Texas?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

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