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Milrem Robotics' THeMIS at DSEI 2023. (Janes/Ares Simone Monzio Compagnoni)
Estonia-based Milrem Robotics revealed the upcoming supply of its first armed THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2025 conference held in Farnborough, UK, from 21 to 23 January.
THeMIS is a family of medium UGVs designed for logistics support, transport, surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat support. Since 2022 the AFU has deployed the THeMIS Cargo casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) UGV and THeMIS Route Clearance Unmanned System (ROCUS) to support transport, evacuation, demining and logistics, and combat engineering teams.
Milrem Robotics' director of industrial partnerships, Paul Clayton, said that tests of THeMIS armed with a grenade launcher are expected to be completed in February, after combat trials in Estonia. Additional tests of THeMIS include counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) capabilities and extended communication and control range using Starlink satellite communications (satcom).
Milrem's announcement further consolidates Ukraine's position as the single largest user of THeMIS while for the first time adding a combat support variant of the platform to the AFU's inventory, with these classed as medium.
The use of unmanned platforms by the AFU has been reported since the opening stages of the conflict with Russia, gaining momentum especially in 2024, with new combat UGVs being developed, tested, and deployed. Clayton said the AFU's use of UGVs included spoofing command post signatures, provoking Russian forces into launching attacks with Iskander ballistic missiles, thereby revealing their launch sites.
Milrem Robotics, said Clayton, intends to have 200 UGVs in Ukraine by the end of 2025 to be locally manufactured by its upcoming partnership plant inside Ukraine.
The company first unveiled THeMIS equipped with Starlink at Eurosatory 2024 and confirmed to Janes
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