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Deployment

Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at United States

~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 · 2 sources · not yet field-verified

Track Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at United States

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Machine-readable surfaces

Footage

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Textron Systems

Textron Systems' showcase of its Ripsaw M5 Robotic Combat Vehicle (developed with Howe & Howe). A teleoperated, operator-controlled combat platform; any autonomy kit is separate, and the autonomy framing is the maker's.

The US Army received 4 Ripsaw M5 vehicles as RCV-Medium prototypes under the Robotic Combat Vehicle program, which was cancelled in 2026, leaving the platform's future trajectory uncertain pending Army restructure or alternative program alignment.

Key facts

Operator
US Army
Program
RCV-Medium prototype; 4 Ripsaw M5 delivered (Ripsaw M3 reported as the 2025 RCV down-select)
Lifecycle stage (re-verified 2026-06-07)
Pilot under US Army Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program. RCV program cancelled in 2026. Ripsaw M5 future trajectory uncertain pending Army restructure or alternative program alignment.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at United States.

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

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-07-10
Model
Ripsaw M5 (RCV)
Company
Textron Systems
Location
United States
Status
pilot
Operator type
customer deployed
First seen
2020-01-01
ID
7244dea9-69b7-4f12-ba30-b18a6c4970f7

Timeline

  1. Jan 2020
    First recorded
    Ripsaw M5 (RCV) first documented operating at United States.
  2. Jan 2020
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    field updated
    key facts: lifecycle enrichment added → Lifecycle stage (re-verified 2026-06-07)
  4. Jul 2026
    Current status: pilot, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Ripsaw M5 (RCV) operates in United States. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (2)

  1. https://www.textronsystems.com/products/ripsaw-m5
  2. https://armyrecognition.com/
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-10

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: defense_ugv

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source

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

Methodology surface for Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at United States.

Common questions

What is the Ripsaw M5 (RCV) deployment at United States?
Ripsaw M5 (RCV), built by Textron Systems, is recorded as a deployment at United States on the DEPLOY registry. Textron Systems operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Ripsaw M5 (RCV) at United States?
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 United States go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting January 1, 2020 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the Ripsaw M5 (RCV) deployment at United States?
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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