The Multi-Purpose Expeditionary Platform for Rapid Sustainment

The Air Force has a specific need for emerging technology to reduce sustainment costs and improve operational readiness. The Multi-Purpose Expeditionary Platform (MPEP) provides the Air Force an innovative, versatile platform for lifting, hauling, carrying, scraping, sweeping, digging, and trimming, with commercial applications in disaster response, construction, and logistics. The MPEP ensures realized weight, sustainment, and cost-per-unit savings. With an MPEP in convoy, every barrier can be quickly removed, clear debris or questionable blockades, and provide construction assistance when needed. The tracked platform can handle diverse terrains with ease. Additionally, the MPEP offers a remote-controlled platform that can be controlled from up to 1,000 feet to protect personnel during clean-ups, debris removal, and/or Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) missions or in pandemic response scenarios. This 90-day objective is based on upgrading the design of the MPEP. This design will include modifying the device by adding a digital remote-control system over our current radio control system, developing specialized attachments to expand the operational breadth of the MPEP, and expanding our autonomous functionality. A variant of the MPEP with the new digital controls and attachments will be designed and confirmed with Air Force stakeholders within three months.