Estonian defence company Milrem Robotics, the world’s leading developer of robotics and autonomous systems, will supply Ukraine with the largest fleet of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) as part of a donation from the European government.
In light of the drastically deteriorating security situation in Europe, governments are increasingly determined to strengthen their support for Ukraine and are at the same time enhancing the collaboration and ramp-up of the European Defence Industrial base.
Estonian robotics pioneer Milrem Robotics, in partnership with Ukraine’s defence tech firm Frontline, has successfully mounted the Buria remote weapon station—featuring a 40mm automatic grenade launcher—onto its THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle, announced the company in August.
“The cooperation between our governments and leading defence industry partners underscores how Europe can respond to shared threats with agility and unity,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics. “We take pride in contributing to Ukraine’s defence capabilities through our combat-proven THeMIS UGVs,” Väärsi added.
The new units will join the initial 15 THeMIS UGVs already deployed in Ukraine. Photo: Milrem Robotics
Milrem increases aid to Ukraine’s defense efforts
The THeMIS is a versatile, cost-effective and combat-proven unmanned vehicle platform designed to support dismounted troops and enhance battlefield effectiveness. It is already part of robotics programmes or in service in 19 countries, making it the most widely used UGV in its size class. The new units will join the initial 15 THeMIS UGVs already deployed in Ukraine, which have proved their combat effectiveness since 2022.
GOOD TO KNOW
The European Defence Fund decided to finance an unmanned ground systems development project led by the Estonian defence industry company Milrem Robotics with 50 million euros. Read more here.
The assembly arrangement of the current delivery will be designed with scalability in mind, allowing for potential future deliveries if additional units are needed. Milrem Robotics will provide training to Ukrainian end-users, ensuring that future operators maintain operational readiness in the field.
The current donation underlines the common European commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s defence capabilities and solidarity with European allies to strengthen regional security.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Estonian company Milrem Robotics is the world’s foremost developer of robotics and autonomous systems, with offices in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, the US, and the UAE.
- The company’s flagship, the THeMIS Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), is part of robotic programmes and is in service across 19 countries. Milrem is also recognised for the HAVOC Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) and the MIFIK — the autonomous functionalities kit.
- The company is also renowned for successfully completing the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) project iMUGS, which focused on developing a modular and scalable architecture for hybrid manned-unmanned systems.
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