Over 100 US autonomous ground vehicles have been operating in Ukraine for nine months

Forterra, a US-based developer of autonomous vehicles, disclosed today that more than 100 of its self-driving all-terrain vehicles have been deployed in combat zones in Ukraine over the past nine months. The company believes this represents the largest deployment of autonomous ground vehicles in active combat by any American defense technology firm.

Ground autonomy meets the reality of war

Scott Sanders, Forterra’s chief growth officer and a former US Marine Corps officer, told Bitcoin World that field testing in live combat provides insights no simulation can match. “Until you hit the realities of combat, you’re just not going to know,” Sanders said. The vehicles are funded by US defense dollars as part of a broader effort to modernize American military capabilities through support for Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces.

While aerial drones have dominated public attention, the battlefield dynamics they have created — where surveillance can lead to immediate attack — have pushed Ukrainian strategists to seek ground-based autonomy. Sergeant Major Corey Wilkens, who leads a US Army program developing autonomous vehicle tactics, explained the vulnerability of exposed troops: “There’s nowhere to hide. You become very, very vulnerable to attack by FPV drones, other drones dropping munitions, artillery, mortar — the full range.”

What the Forterra Lancer brings to the battlefield

Ukraine has been building its own uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) for supply runs, munitions transport, and casualty evacuation, but those are typically battery-powered and limited to carrying about 250 kilograms. Forterra’s Lancer vehicles, built on Polaris ATV chassis and equipped with a custom sensor and compute stack, are gas-powered and can haul up to 750 kilograms of cargo.

A Ukrainian soldier who has worked extensively with the vehicles and spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons told Bitcoin World: “The bottom line is that this UGV for logistics and maintaining our defense is the most important UGV in Ukraine. It’s fucking fantastic, and we are dying to get more.”

The sentiment was not immediate. Ukrainian forces have had mixed experiences with Western contractors bringing new technology to the front lines. Initially, Forterra’s offerings felt too tailored to the high-end requirements of the US Army. Modifications — particularly adding a Starlink satellite internet antenna — made the vehicles significantly more useful.

Operational record and battlefield lessons

Since arriving in Ukraine last October, the Lancers have completed more than 1,100 missions, driving over 2,500 miles. They have carried a total of 777,440 pounds of cargo and performed 52 casualty evacuations. Some vehicles have been lost in combat, particularly when stuck in deep mud or difficult terrain where Russian forces could target them.

Forterra has gathered critical lessons about electronic warfare, remote software updates, maneuvering in challenging conditions, and vehicle reliability. The company, which has raised more than $500 million in venture funding from firms including XYZ Venture Capital and Moore Strategic Partners, is now better positioned to compete for major national security contracts.

The deployment has also highlighted the current limits of autonomy. Ukrainian soldiers have primarily been teleoperating the vehicles in combat zones, partly because the units are too valuable to risk losing to autonomous navigation errors, and partly because the technology is not yet ready for the full complexity of war. While the vehicles can navigate autonomously across varied terrain, they cannot yet identify unexpected enemy forces and react appropriately.

“We actually need to be able to respond to the enemy threats, live, while it’s in front of the enemy, which the autonomy doesn’t know how to do yet,” the Ukrainian soldier said.

The path to smarter battlefield robots

Forterra, which began work on autonomous vehicles two decades ago, is now working on combining classical robotics algorithms — similar to those used in self-driving cars — with newer generative AI software that allows machines to react to their surroundings in a more generalized way. A key obstacle remains gathering the right training data.

“There’s a lot of things you have to do that aren’t available in an open source model because they’re not things that humans do, whether that’s figuring out how to navigate a minefield or operating a weapon system,” Sanders said. “You need to be able to turn the dials — some things need more of a classical robotics approach, and then leverage AI where you need to.”

Competitors are working on similar challenges. Scout AI raised $100 million earlier this year to train foundation models and develop a suite of autonomous military platforms. Startups like Field AI and Overland AI are trialing UGVs with the US military. Despite the current limitations, American military experts are convinced the time to invest is now.

“Ground autonomy is achievable now and we’ve seen it,” Sergeant Major Wilkens said.

On-the-ground perspective

Scott Philips, Forterra’s chief innovation officer, visited a Ukrainian unit’s operations center to see the vehicles in action, earning respect from the unit for entering an area within range of Russian attacks. “What struck me most was seeing exactly where the seams are: which steps are still manual, where data has to be re-entered or re-verified by hand, and where the team has already found ways to automate or speed things up,” Philips told Bitcoin World. “That’s the kind of ground truth you can’t get from a slide deck.”

One challenge issued by the Ukrainians is straightforward: make it cheaper. Forterra’s Lancers are not expensive for their category, thanks to using Polaris’ commercial supply chain, but they are still too valuable to be deployed as freely as drones. “Attrition is just a fact of this battlefield, and we have lost a few at this point, and it hurt, and we need more, and therefore we need them cheaper,” the Ukrainian soldier said.

Conclusion

The deployment of Forterra’s autonomous ground vehicles in Ukraine marks a significant milestone in the use of uncrewed ground systems in active combat. The nine-month operation has provided the US military and its allies with real-world data on the capabilities and limitations of current autonomy technology, while also highlighting the urgent need for cheaper, more robust systems. As both Ukrainian and American forces continue to adapt to the realities of modern warfare, ground robots are likely to play an increasingly central role — but the technology still has a long way to go before it can operate independently in the chaos of combat.

FAQs

Q1: What is the Forterra Lancer?
The Forterra Lancer is a gas-powered autonomous all-terrain vehicle based on a Polaris ATV chassis, equipped with a custom sensor and compute stack. It can carry up to 750 kilograms of cargo and is designed for military logistics, supply runs, and casualty evacuation.

Q2: How many Forterra vehicles have been deployed in Ukraine?
Forterra has deployed more than 100 of its Lancer vehicles in Ukraine over the past nine months, in what the company says is the largest deployment of autonomous ground vehicles in combat by any US defense tech firm.

Q3: Are these vehicles fully autonomous in combat?
No. While the vehicles can navigate autonomously across varied terrain, Ukrainian soldiers have primarily been teleoperating them in combat zones. The autonomy systems are not yet capable of identifying and reacting to unexpected enemy threats in real time.

Q4: Why does Ukraine need ground robots if it already has drones?
Drones have created dangerous no-go zones where any exposed movement can be detected and attacked. Ground vehicles can move supplies, evacuate wounded, and perform logistics tasks without putting human soldiers at risk, especially in areas where aerial drones are vulnerable to electronic warfare or weather.

Q5: How much does a Forterra Lancer cost?
Forterra has not disclosed exact pricing, but the vehicles are described as relatively affordable for their category because they use Polaris’ commercial supply chain. However, Ukrainian operators say they are still too expensive to be treated as expendable like small drones, and they have asked for cheaper versions.