Howe & Howe Technologies
About
About Howe & Howe Technologies
Howe & Howe Technologies designs and builds tracked robotic ground vehicles for firefighting, defence and hazardous-response work. The Thermite family carries high-flow water delivery into environments that expose crews to heat, collapse, explosion or toxic materials, using remote control to position a monitor close to the incident.
Twin brothers Mike and Geoff Howe founded the Maine company in 2001, and Textron Systems acquired it in December 2018. Howe & Howe now operates within that group while retaining its specialist ground-vehicle identity. Its wider portfolio includes small military robotic vehicles and extreme-mobility platforms, with configurations, payloads and support packages tied to the mission and customer programme.
Products
- Thermite RS3
Thermite
Deployments
- Customer site
Howe & Howe reports that the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Thermite RS3 accumulated hundreds of operating hours before September 2025. - LAFD Thermite RS3 unit
Source
Team
- Mike Howe - Co-founder and Senior Vice President - Leads development of specialist tracked ground vehicles within the Textron Systems business.
- Geoff Howe - Co-founder and Senior Vice President - Leads development of specialist tracked ground vehicles within the Textron Systems business.
Timeline
Events
- 2025-09-10 - Demonstration - Ukrainian first responders complete Thermite RS3 training and tests
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine and Lviv State University of Life Safety received hands-on Thermite RS3 training. Responders completed six tests ranging from extinguishing an oil fire to extracting vehicles from an accident scene. Training covered vehicle operation, maintenance and the system’s firefighting and recovery functions.
Source - 2020-10-13 - Deployment - Howe & Howe delivers first U.S. commercial Thermite RS3 to LAFD
LAFD planned to use the tracked robot for firefighting, training and urban search-and-rescue support. The delivered RS3 combined high-volume suppression with a modular wide chassis, plow compatibility and an 8,000 lb winch.
Source