Publication

Power and Mobility (P&M)
2019

AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEXT-GENERATION NATO REFERENCE MOBILITY MODEL (NG-NRMM) COOPERATIVE DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY (CDT)

by David Gorsich; Richard Gerth; Scott Bradley; Michael Letherwood

Abstract

The NATO Reference Mobility Model (NRMM) is a simulation tool aimed at predicting the capability of a vehicle to move over specified terrains. NRMM was developed and validated by the U.S. Army in the 1960s and ‘70s, and has been revised and updated through the years. Although NRMM has proven to be of great practical utility to the NATO forces, it exhibits several inherent limitations when compared to modern modeling tools. A NATO Research Task Group (RTG) committee was formed to develop a Next-Generation NATO Reference Mobility Model (NG-NRMM). In September 2018, a 3-day NATO Cooperative Demonstration of Technology (CDT) event took place at the Michigan Technical University / Keweenaw Research Center (MTU/KRC) in Northern Michigan to showcase the committee’s work and the key differences between legacy and next generation mobility prediction software. This paper summarizes the CDT event and actions performed, describes the value added, identifies gaps, and outlines a path forward to address many of those gaps now that the four year effort has concluded.