Over 100 US-built Autonomous ATVs Fighting in Ukraine for Nine Months
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Podcast: Defence
Forterra, a US builder of autonomous vehicles, revealed that more than 100 of its self-driving ATVs have been deployed in combat zones in Ukraine for the past nine months. The company claims this is the largest deployment of autonomous ground vehicles in combat by any US defence tech company.
Since October, these ATVs, known as Lancers, have:
- Driven over 2,500 miles across more than 1,100 missions.
- Carried 777,440 pounds of cargo.
- Completed 52 casualty evacuations.
The gas-powered Lancers can carry 750 kilograms, making them three times as capable as Ukraine’s battery-powered UGVs.
"This UGV for logistics and just maintaining our defence is the most important UGV in Ukraine," said a Ukrainian soldier. "It’s fucking fantastic, and we are dying to get more."
Some Lancers have been lost in combat, particularly when stuck in deep mud where Russian forces can target them. Adding a Starlink antenna improved their operational usefulness.
Ukraine’s unmanned warfare industry is booming, with Forterra’s deployment adding a US hardware layer to that ecosystem. However, the limits of autonomy are clear. Ukrainian soldiers have primarily been teleoperating the vehicles due to their inability to identify and react to unexpected enemy forces.
Forterra is developing a combination of classical robotics algorithms and generative AI for more generalised reactions.
Ukrainian soldiers also express a desire for cost reduction, as Forterra’s Lancers, though powered by Polaris’s commercial supply chain, are still too valuable to deploy freely like drones.