Situated a little under 2 hours from the Mackinaw Bridge, The Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center sits in the quiet town of Grayling, Michigan. This site is an integral part of the National All Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC). It primarily supports the Summer and Winter Northern Strike joint exercises, the National Guard Exportable Combat Training Center Exercises, and a variety of cyber security / next generation technology events. The 2021 live fire experiment was conducted as the Project ORIGIN platform was put to the test in various combat scenarios joined by soldiers from A Company, 1-28th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division.

Alongside soldiers and the Project ORIGIN team, the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Function Team (NGCV CFT) and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle System Center (GVSC) teams assisted on Camp Grayling grounds with a two week long live fire experiment to test out remote controlling of the weapon systems on the Project Origin platform to fire on both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight targets.

Soldiers from the previous Project Origin experiment in Fort Benning, GA. were present to test out the platform again. Maj. Cory Wallace, RCV team lead for the NGCV CFT, stated:

“Having the same Soldiers engage with the Origin over multiple iterations reduces the learning curve, and it also provides a constant level of feedback as the Soldiers become familiar with these systems and how they interact…”

So, what is it the Soldiers exactly put to the test? Each of these attributes were examined during the live fire:

• Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
• Modular Smoke Obscuration Module (SOM)
• Commonly Remote Operated Weapon System (CROWs)
  • Equipped with M249 and M2 Machine Guns and MK19 Grenade

Fun fact, the M2 and MK19 had never been fired off of a Remote Combat Vehicle (RCV) before at this point! Testing these attributes helps increase survivability and communication between teams during real-life battleground scenarios.

VIDS Corp Involvement:

First things first, VIDS Corp consulted with project managers, engineers, support staff, etc. to really understand the team and applicable mission sets that may be encountered during the event. Because of the long standing relationship that VIDS Corp has with Camp Grayling, we are able to provide unprecedented coverage of events and have access to areas, tools, and locations that typically are not available to others on a regular basis.

Maintaining a low level presence during day-to-day operations to best capture the assigned mission sets is also important as to not get in the way of the live fire experiment. As an integrated part of the mission, VIDS Corp was given minimally restricted access to all aspects of the operation including in field operations, after action reports, and briefs on an as needed basis. Strict live-fire policies were followed to protect not only themselves, but others involved with the event as well.

VIDS Corp utilized BlackMagic Pocket Cinema 4k, Deity Wireless Microphone, multi-axis gimbals, and other industry leading setups in order to seamlessly pass between in-field activities and stationary interview settings. Due to the nature of the live fire experiment and strict policies put in place surrounding the event, VIDS Corp needed to get creative when it came time to properly showcase the usage of live fire rounds. VIDS Corp chose to utilize next generation FPV drone technology in order to get the best possible angles of the live fire experiment. Utilizing this technology meant VIDS Corp personnel were safely out of harm’s way while offering high speed, up close footage of rounds hitting their targets. All of this combined led to a wide variety of camera angles and unique approaches to coverage that hadn’t been seen before from a GVSC program event.

Event Conclusion:

Continuing VIDS Corp’s partnership with Project ORIGIN and the soldier teams allowed us to enhance our perspective from the previous Fort Benning, GA. SOE as we were able to witness the improvements and evolution of the program from one event to another. Being fully immersed with the on-site teams throughout the two week event helped us capture all mission sets, scenarios, and situational environments through photo and video highlights to show the possibility of remote control usage of the Project ORIGIN MUTT (Multi-Utility Tactical Transport) robotic platform.

VIDS Corp completed two different video deliverables, as well as multiple photos to emphasize how successful and necessary this event is for the future of the RCV program and the way soldiers make contact on the battlefield moving forward. Being able to shine a light on Project ORIGIN’s progress throughout each event over the course of a year is crucial to the future of not only the program, but of our warfighters on the ground.