Forterra's 100 autonomous ATVs fight in Ukraine — mostly teleoperated
forterra deployed over 100 autonomous atvs in ukraine, logging 2,500 miles and 52 casualty evacuations. this signals that while ground autonomy is scaling in combat, human teleoperation remains essential due to enemy threats.
forterra, backed by over $500 million in venture funding, has successfully operated its lancer autonomous ground vehicles (ugvs) in ukraine for nine months, carrying 777,440 pounds of cargo and driving 2,500 miles. the vehicles, modified with starlink and capable of hauling 750 kilograms, address critical logistics limitations of smaller, battery-powered ukrainian ugs. despite possessing the hardware for autonomous navigation, combat realities have forced a reliance on teleoperation, as current software cannot identify or react to unexpected enemy fire and complex battlefield variables. this real-world combat data is helping forterra improve its electronic warfare resilience and remote update capabilities, accelerating the development of rugged autonomous systems for the us military.