U.S. Army Pfc. Ximena Jimenez, a culinary specialist with 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, uses SAM, the autonomous field kitchen at Camp Carroll, South Korea, April 17, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP CARROLL, South Korea — The Army is testing a robotic kitchen designed to quickly prepare meals for soldiers out in the field while reducing setup times and labor demands.
The system — Sustained Autonomous Meals, or SAM — is undergoing a seven-month evaluation funded through U.S. Indo-Pacific Command research and development programs, the service said.
After the success of the Market 19 autonomous kitchen at Camp Walker, this new program aims to evaluate the capabilities of its field counterpart, officials said.
U.S. Army Sgt. Jose Perez, a culinary specialist with the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, uses SAM, an autonomous field kitchen at Camp Carroll, South Korea, April 17, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
“The pilot cost around $80,000,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 River Mitchell, food adviser for the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command’s Distribution Management Center, said during interviews at Camp Carroll on April 17.
The containerized kitchen can produce between 100 and 120 meals per hour and feed as many as 800 soldiers on a single load, he said.
The system now offers two meals — one for breakfast and one for dinner — but has the capacity for up to four customizable meals, Mitchell said.
“We have a breakfast dish with chicken sausage and some spinach, and veggies,” he said. “And then we have bow tie pasta with tomato sauce and chicken.”
Unlike traditional kitchens, SAM combines food preparation, refrigeration and sanitation systems into one transportable unit that can be operational in less than four hours after arriving at a site, Mitchell said.
The unit can be moved by heavy equipment vehicles or flatbed trucks and requires either a 60-kilowatt generator or shore power to operate, he said. Onboard batteries keep refrigerated food cold during transport.
The system is intended to complement, rather than replace, existing field kitchens, Mitchell said.
The Sustained Autonomous Meals, or SAM, field kitchen is tested by the U.S. Army's 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Camp Carroll, South Korea, April 17, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
The automation reduces the physical demands placed on food service personnel, said Sgt. Jose Perez, a culinary specialist assigned to the command.
“The transition from traditional kitchens to an automated one has reduced workload intensity while maintaining mission effectiveness,” he said.
Soldiers still prepare ingredients, but much of the cooking process is automated through digital controls and preprogrammed settings, allowing operators to follow guided instructions rather than manually managing each phase of cooking.
The system was developed by the German company goodBytz. Its lead software engineer, Julian Bonas, has been training soldiers on operating and troubleshooting the equipment.
“The system will tell you if there’s something wrong,” he said.
Most technical issues can be resolved on site, while more complex problems can be addressed remotely though diagnostic software, Bonas said.
Testing will continue through the end of the fiscal year as the Army evaluates whether the system can be expanded to other units, Mitchell said.
