US Army soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division used S-MET Inc I’s during a recent training exercise. The Army is moving forward with S-MET Inc II, which is now in the design phase. (Ashely Roque/Breaking Defense)

WASHINGTON — The US Army today selected two companies — HDT Expeditionary Systems and Rheinmetall — to produce robotic mule prototypes for it to test out before crowning an ultimate victor.

The Army awarded a total of $22 million, divided between the two teams, each of which must eight prototypes of their offerings for the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) Increment II program, one of the Army’s top robotic vehicle efforts. After it evaluates those robots, the service plans to ink a production contract with one vendor in late fiscal 2027 and buy up to 2,195 ground vehicles.

“S-MET supports the Army’s mission to implement robotic and autonomous system capabilities with urgency to lessen risk to soldiers in multi-domain operations,” said Kyle Bruner, the service’s project manager for Force Projection within the Program Executive Office Combat Support & Combat Service Support.

Several years ago, the service picked General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce the initial S–MET — a single radio-controlled, eight-wheeled platform designed to ferry up to 1,000 pounds of troop equipment around the battlefield. It later kickstarted the Inc II competition for a new robot that can carry twice the weight — 2,000 pounds — while also producing more exportable power to power drones, increased reliability on the battlefield and a reduced audio signature.

“S-MET Increment II addresses capability gaps associated with excessive physical burdens, recharging batteries during continuous operations, and reducing sustainment burden for semi-independent operations,” Bruner added.

In addition to Rheinmetall and HDT Expeditionary Systems vying for the deal, US-based tech firm Anduril teamed up with South Korean defense giant Hanwha for the competition, while incumbent GDLS also threw their hat in the ring.

In a brief statement to Breaking Defense, Matthew Warnick, American Rheinmetall Vehicles managing director, praised today’s decision to move the program forward.

“The S-MET Inc II program will enhance our soldiers’ operational capabilities with advanced technologies needed now in support of their mission,” Warnick added. “I’m incredibly proud of our entire organization for their hard work and dedication to achieve this success.”