A Startup with Eric Trump as Adviser Tests Humanoid Robots in Ukraine
A startup with Eric Trump as its chief strategy adviser is testing humanoid robots in Ukraine, aiming to deploy them on US front lines within 18 months. Foundation Future Industries, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2024, sent two of its Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots to Ukraine this year, marking the first known deployment of such robots in a combat zone.
Background and Contracts
The tests, backed by the US government and conducted with Ukrainian officials, focused on logistics in hazardous areas. Foundation has secured $24 million in Pentagon contracts across the Army, Navy, and Air Force for feasibility testing in inspection, logistics, and weapons handling.
CEO Sankaet Pathak told CNBC that the MK-1 tests proved robots can perform supply pickups, currently a dangerous task for soldiers. The robots carry approximately 44 pounds but lack waterproofing and sufficient battery life for sustained deployment.
Planned Improvements and Deployment
Foundation plans to send improved Phantom 2 units to Ukraine later this year, with "superhuman abilities" and doubled payload capacity. Pathak aims for front-line deployment with the US military within 12 to 18 months.
Political Dimensions and Criticism
The political aspect is significant given Eric Trump’s role as Foundation’s chief strategy adviser. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the contracts, labeling them "corruption in plain sight." A Foundation spokesperson stated that Eric Trump was an investor before becoming an advisor. They share a vision of bringing manufacturing back to the US.
Military Benefits and Challenges
The military benefits of humanoid robots lie in urban combat environments, where their human-like features offer advantages over tracked or quadruped robots, as highlighted by Kateryna Bondar, a senior fellow at CSIS. However, Melanie Sisson from the Brookings Foreign Policy program counters that creating humanoid robots is a complex and expensive engineering challenge, while Ukraine’s war has emphasized the need for rapid adaptation and cheap manufacturing.