Home Europe Estonia’s Milrem confirms delivery of unmanned ground vehicle to Ukraine

Estonia’s Milrem confirms delivery of unmanned ground vehicle to Ukraine

THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle for Ukraine
Photo: Milrem

Estonian robotics and autonomous system developer Milrem Robotics has delivered a THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to Ukraine, the company confirmed in a statement.

The vehicle is poised to help Ukraine in casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) and transportation missions in the wake of the Russian invasion, the company further said.

Equipped with stretchers for rapid CASEVAC, the UGV was delivered to a Ukrainian charitable organization. Onsite training was provided upon delivery for the quick deployment of the system.

Russia has already released a bounty for the capture of the vehicle, with the Russian Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) think-tank offering a RUB1 million (USD16,428) reward for an intact UGV.

“Casualty evacuation is one of the most crucial and labor-intensive activities in conflicts. Traditionally, it takes several people to carry a stretcher and required medical equipment. However, it would require only one to operate a UGV, which can accommodate several wounded and a lot of equipment. This means that more personnel are available to help more people,” explained Captain (res) Jüri Pajuste, defense R&D director at Milrem Robotics.

Photo: Petro Poroshenko/Facebook

Milrem confirmed the delivery after former Ukrainian prime minister Petro Poroshenko posed with a THeMIS UGV in late August, saying the system was already in Ukraine and would be used by the Hospitallers medical battalion.

The THeMIS UGV is a multi-mission vehicle with an open architecture that enables it to be rapidly configured from having a transport function to being weaponized, performing ordnance disposal, or supporting intelligence operations according to the nature of the mission.

The systems have been acquired by 14 countries, 8 of which are members of NATO, including Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK, and the US.