Forterra, a US builder of autonomous vehicles, has revealed that more than 100 of its self-driving all-terrain vehicles have been operating in Ukrainian conflict zones over the past nine months — what the company believes is the largest combat deployment of autonomous ground vehicles by any US defence tech firm. Funded by US defence dollars, the deployment forms part of a wider effort to modernise the American military through its support of Ukraine, and it offers a rare test of ground autonomy under real battlefield conditions, where the prevalence of aerial drones has created deadly no-go zones and driven demand for uncrewed ground vehicles.

Forterra's Lancer vehicles, based on Polaris ATVs with a custom sensor and compute stack, are petrol-powered and can carry 750kg — far more than Ukraine's battery-powered UGVs, which typically manage 250kg. Since arriving last October they have driven over 2,500 miles across more than 1,100 missions, carrying some 777,440 pounds of cargo and completing 52 casualty evacuations, though some have been lost in combat. Ukrainian troops, initially sceptical, warmed to the vehicles after modifications such as adding Starlink connectivity. For now, soldiers mainly teleoperate them, as the autonomy cannot yet identify and respond to enemy threats. Forterra, which has raised over $500 million, is combining classical robotics with generative AI, and competes with firms such as Scout AI, Field AI and Overland AI.