Forterra, a U.S. developer of autonomous vehicles, announced that it has deployed more than 100 of its Lancer self-driving ATVs to conflict zones in Ukraine over the past nine months. The company says this represents the largest deployment of autonomous ground vehicles in combat by any U.S. defense technology firm to date.
Why they were sent
The effort is at least partly funded by U.S. defense dollars and aims to support battlefield logistics and casualty evacuation: moving supplies, transporting munitions and extracting wounded soldiers. While aerial drones have dominated coverage of the war, their presence has created large no-go zones where surveillance can expose forces to attacks from above, prompting Ukrainian planners to pursue ground-based autonomous options.
Technical details and operational use
Forterra’s Lancer is built on Polaris ATVs and fitted with a custom sensor and compute stack. Unlike many Ukrainian-built UGVs that are battery-powered and typically carry up to 250 kilograms, the gas-powered Lancer can transport up to 750 kilograms, making it more versatile for logistics tasks. A Ukrainian soldier who has worked with the vehicles told TechCrunch that this UGV is "the most important UGV in Ukraine" and that units are keen to receive more.
Since the vehicles arrived in Ukraine last October, they have driven more than 2,500 miles across over 1,100 missions, carried a total of 777,440 pounds (about 353 metric tons) of cargo, and completed 52 casualty evacuations. Some vehicles have been lost in combat—particularly when they become stuck in deep mud or terrain where Russian forces can target them at leisure.
Modifications, operation mode, and limitations
Forterra initially found that its offering seemed tailored to high-end U.S. Army requirements; field modifications for Ukrainian use—most notably adding Starlink satellite internet antennas—substantially increased their battlefield value. Because the vehicles are expensive and autonomy is still imperfect in combat, Ukrainian forces have largely teleoperated the Lancers in contested areas.
While the systems can navigate autonomously across varied terrain, they are not yet capable of reliably identifying unexpected enemy forces and reacting appropriately. The Ukrainian soldier explained that forces need to be able to respond to enemy threats live in front of them—something current autonomy does not yet handle.
Forterra has learned lessons about operating in electronic warfare environments, pushing software updates remotely, maneuvering in difficult conditions, and reducing breakdowns. The company, which began work on autonomous vehicles 20 years ago, is also exploring how to combine classical robotics approaches with newer generative AI techniques to enable more generalized, real-time reactions. A major obstacle remains gathering the right data for training those systems, particularly for tasks not commonly represented in open-source datasets, such as navigating minefields or integrating weapon operations.
Funding, competitors, and market implications
Forterra has raised more than $500 million in venture capital from investors including XYZ Venture Cpaital and Moore Strategic Partners, positioning it to compete for larger national security contracts. Other companies are tackling similar challenges: Scout AI raised $100 million earlier this year to train foundation models and develop a suite of autonomous military platforms that include UGVs, and startups like Field AI and Overland AI are also trialing ground robots with the U.S. military.
Cost pressures and Ukrainian demands
Ukrainian units have pressed for lower-cost systems. Although Forterra’s Lancers are not expensive for their class—partly because they leverage Polaris’s commercial supply chain—they remain too valuable to be committed as freely as smaller UAVs. As the Ukrainian soldier put it, attrition is a reality on the battlefield: "we have lost a few at this point, and it hurt, and we need more, and therefore we need them cheaper."
Conclusion
Forterra’s deployment of more than 100 autonomous ATVs in Ukraine has yielded significant operational data: the vehicles have enhanced logistics and conducted evacuations, but full autonomy for combat engagement remains out of reach. The experience demonstrates that ground autonomy is already practical for logistics tasks, while further development—data collection, robustness to electronic warfare, and cost reduction—will be required for wider adoption and more autonomous combat roles.
