Ukraine carries out first logistics mission using an amphibious UGV

Ukrainian service members have completed the country’s first logistics mission using an amphibious unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), according to an announcement from Ukraine's Defense Ministry.

Such platforms are designed to maintain mobility in areas where conventional unmanned ground vehicles cannot operate due to flooding, deep channels, or unstable ground.

According to the ministry, the system traveled more than 40 km. while carrying ammunition and food supplies to frontline positions, moving across terrain that included rivers, canals, and marshland.

The vehicle operated as a wheeled platform on land and switched to swimming mode when encountering water obstacles. The cargo remained onboard throughout the transition, allowing the route to be completed without relying on bridges.

Ukraine’s Brave1 defense innovation cluster said in a statement that operators of the "Alter Ego" unit of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade deployed the robotic system.

While the ministry did not identify the vehicle’s developer, it said that the platform had been developed and refined over several months in cooperation with the military and took into account “real-world missions, operational experience, and the specific characteristics of front-line terrain.”

The Brave1 defense innovation cluster,  which recently introduced a dedicated funding track for amphibious unmanned systems, supported the development of the platform through grant funding.

Although the ministry did not specify the model used, there is a growing number of domestically manufactured amphibious UGVs, including platforms such as the UNEX, Triton, Rage Robot, Dodger multi-purpose UGVs.

The UNEX system, which became operational last year, is built on a specialized chassis and can cross water, floodplains, swamps, sand, ice, and other difficult terrain. The ministry claims that the weight distribution across its axles and its wide tires “generates less surface pressure than an infantry soldier’s foot, preventing the activation of mines designed to target automotive equipment and armored vehicles.”

The platform is fully electric, has an autonomous operating time of up to six hours and a payload capacity of up to 1,700 kg. It can be placed in various configurations, tailored for logistics, evacuation, and demining, and can be equipped with a weapons station or electronic warfare system.

Ukrainian forces have expanded their use of unmanned ground vehicles for logistics and evacuation missions over the past year. Ukrainian media have reported that the number of frontline units using UGVs has increased from 67 in late 2025 to 167 by the spring of 2026. 

On its website, Brave1 says that UGVs are already carrying out over 7,000 combat missions per month. In April, the country’s former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that it aims to have UGVs carry out all front-line logistics operations.

UGVs have become one of the most consequential technologies in modern warfare. Once limited to bomb disposal and remote reconnaissance, UGVs now support frontline combat, logistics, electronic warfare, and casualty evacuation across multiple conflict zones. Their rapid evolution is transforming how militaries fight, supply, and survive on increasingly lethal and electronically contested battlefields.

According to Brave1, troops from the Alter Ego UGV battalion of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade engineered a variation of the Desantnyk UGV along with a precision drop mechanism for heavy drone bombers. The entire process, from initial concept to combat application, took 10 days.

Earlier this month, troops used heavy bomber drones to air-drop those UGVs several miles behind Russian positions in a surprise assault called Operation Vivaldi.

The use of the UGVs, which acted as suicide ground robotic systems, helped Ukraine take back 125 sq.km. from Russian control. Business Insider reported that UGVs completed over 15,700 different missions, delivering around 3,300 tons of cargo during the offensive.