President Volodymyr Zelensky set a goal of producing 50,000 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) this year — and Ukraine’s defense-technology incubator Brave1, led by CEO Andrii Hrytseniuk, says it is moving to deliver on that target.
Andrii Hrytseniuk and Brave1’s production mission
"We are moving according to the plan that was announced by President Zelensky," Andrii Hrytseniuk told the author in an exclusive interview, calling the target "very ambitious" but saying he felt "pretty confident" the effort can be executed. Hrytseniuk said he has convened a Staff meeting where UGVs were the first of three key issues, and he emphasized that "the volume of contracting for UGVs must be significantly higher."
Ukraine's industrial base: 280 companies, 550 UGV models
Hrytseniuk described a domestic supply chain that is already extensive: about 280 private Ukrainian companies are producing UGVs, and there are 550 different models in total. He said roughly 99% of the drones used on the frontline are fully manufactured in Ukraine, with only "a few international ones" in limited use.
The tempo of operations reflects that scale: in March Brave1 tracked 9,000 drone logistics missions and in April "more than 10,000," Hrytseniuk said, framing logistics UGVs as a rapidly increasing, high-volume demand.
Logistics, evacuation, and combat UGVs
Hrytseniuk laid out three primary categories of ground robots in service.
- Logistics UGVs: used to transport construction materials, ammunition and provisions through the "gray zone," particularly in the last 10 to 15 kilometers from the front line. Hrytseniuk emphasized a doctrine of not risking soldiers when drones can carry cargo.
- Evacuation UGVs: "special UGVs that are used for evacuation of wounded soldiers." The interview references a video showing a robotic evacuation vehicle with an armored capsule rescuing a wounded soldier; on its return it struck two mines, but the armored capsule protected the wounded.
- Combat UGVs: Hrytseniuk said Ukraine fields "more than 10 different models" of combat UGVs used to attack Russian soldiers and armored vehicles and to serve as anti-drone aerial-defense systems, engaging Shaheds, FPV drones (including fiber-optic-guided systems) and even small Russian planes.
Armament and artificial intelligence in combat turrets
Combat UGVs use a range of weapons: Hrytseniuk listed small arms in 5.45mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm and 12.7mm calibers, as well as grenade launchers including the Mk19. He said combat turrets "without artificial intelligence do not work at appropriate effectiveness" and that "all combat turrets that we are using have elements of artificial intelligence."
Hrytseniuk described the AI primarily as machine vision functions: "object recognition, identification, classification, tracking and providing recommendations for the operator on what to do." When asked whether systems acquire target range, altitude and speed and “open fire on their own,” he replied, "Yes," adding that Ukrainian combat turrets are "more advanced than Russia" — and that he would avoid sharing technical details.
Delta command-and-control, and the limited role of fiber optics
Hrytseniuk stressed command-and-control as a force multiplier. He called the Delta command and control system "number one in the world" and "absolutely crucial" for connecting drones, UGVs and multi-domain operations. He declined to provide technical specifics on how Delta operates.
On fiber-optic guidance for UGVs, Hrytseniuk said it is not commonly used: "For UGVs, fiber optics is not used." He allowed that there are "some experiments," but that fiber-optic control is typically suited to one-way missions and therefore applies to a very small percentage of UGV tasks.
What this means for technologists, procurement leaders, and the armed forces
- Technologists: will be focused on machine vision and AI integration into combat turrets and turrets’ decision-support functions, because Hrytseniuk framed AI as essential to UGV effectiveness.
- Procurement leaders: must scale contracting rapidly to reach production goals — Hrytseniuk said contracting volumes "must be significantly higher" to meet demand from the front and from the government's 50,000-vehicle objective.
- The armed forces: are already using UGVs broadly — for high-volume logistics missions, casualty evacuation under fire, and anti-drone and direct-combat roles — and will depend on the Delta command-and-control system to coordinate those capabilities.
The picture Hrytseniuk painted is of an industrialized, AI-enabled ground-robot effort operating at scale: hundreds of companies and hundreds of vehicle types, thousands of logistics sorties per month, and weaponized UGVs whose sensors and targeting software are central to their battlefield effectiveness. Whether the production and contracting surge he calls for will fully meet the 50,000-vehicle goal remains a central operational challenge in the months ahead.
