Ukraine carries out first logistics mission using an amphibious UGV
The UGV traveled more than 40 km. while carrying ammunition and food supplies to frontline positions, moving across terrain that included rivers, canals, and marshland.
Ukrainian defense forces have successfully completed their maiden logistics mission utilizing an amphibious unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), as reported by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Such versatile platforms are engineered to sustain mobility in challenging terrains, including flooded regions, deep waterways, or uneven ground, where traditional UGVs struggle to operate.
The vehicle covered over 40 kilometers, transporting vital supplies like ammunition and food to frontline positions, navigating through rivers, canals, and marshlands, without the need for bridges. The Alter Ego unit of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade deployed the robotic system, with the Brave1 defense innovation cluster attributing the development of the platform to extensive collaboration with military personnel, incorporating real-world missions and operational insights tailored to frontline terrains.
While the specific model remains undisclosed, the proliferation of amphibious UGVs in Ukraine includes models such as the UNEX, Triton, Rage Robot, and Dodger multi-purpose UGVs. The UNEX, operational since the previous year, boasts a specialized chassis enabling it to traverse water, floodplains, swamps, sand, ice, and other challenging terrains, with a weight distribution across its axles and wide tires that minimize surface pressure, thereby avoiding mine activation designed for automotive and armored vehicles.
Powered by electricity, the platform offers an autonomous operating range of up to six hours and a payload capacity of 1,700 kilograms, versatile in configurations for logistics, evacuation, and demining. Ukrainian forces have increasingly employed UGVs for logistics and evacuation tasks over the past year, with the number of frontline units utilizing these vehicles tripling from 67 in late 2025 to 167 by spring 2026.
Brave1 highlights that UGVs execute over 7,000 combat missions monthly, contributing significantly to Ukraine's military strategy. In April, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced a goal to deploy UGVs for all front-line logistics operations. These autonomous systems have evolved from limited roles in bomb disposal and remote reconnaissance to supporting frontline combat, logistics, electronic warfare, and casualty evacuation across various conflict zones, revolutionizing military tactics in modern warfare.
Brave1 notes that the Alter Ego battalion of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade customized a version of the Desantnyk UGV, complete with a precision drop mechanism for heavy drone bombers, achieving this feat in just 10 days. Recently, troops employed heavy bomber drones in an Operation Vivaldi, successfully dropping UGVs several miles behind Russian positions, contributing to the recapture of 125 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
