Remote-Controlled Buggies Tested in Ukraine

Ukraine is working to supply its military with modern, remote-controlled buggies.

The Brave1 cluster told Militarnyi that, in collaboration with the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), they tested Ukrainian remote-controlled buggies for the first time.

Conventional ground drones handle a significant portion of logistics on the front lines, but they have their limitations — they are slow and lack the off-road capability needed for winter terrain. That is why Brave1 began focusing on buggies. Remotely controlled buggies have been added to a new grant program.

“Together with 33 GROUP, part of the ‘Special Forces Unit Timur’ of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, we conducted closed-door tests of buggies from Ukrainian manufacturers,” Brave1 reported.

Military personnel did not merely observe the tests; they personally piloted the vehicles and provided constructive feedback on the spot.

The next step is to test the remaining available designs and, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense, deploy the buggies on the battlefield.

The defense forces have been using foreign buggies for some time, but high costs and the lack of remote control remain obstacles.

Furthermore, not all of these vehicles are up to the modern challenges of the front lines.

“More than half of the developments currently in Ukraine have already received grants from Brave1, and we are now working to ensure that each of them is equipped with a reliable remote-control system,” said a Brave1 representative.

The Fantom buggy, which can be controlled remotely

Recently, Space Ray unveiled the Fantom hybrid buggy, which can be operated by a driver as a conventional vehicle but switches to UGV mode when necessary.

A separate control unit is used for this purpose. The driver can leave the driver’s seat, after which control is transferred to a remote operator.

In other words, the same vehicle can operate in two modes: as a conventional buggy and as a remotely controlled UGV. This approach allows the buggy to be used to transport soldiers to their positions without the need to leave a driver in a dangerous section of the route.

A representative of Space Ray stated that the military is already using a similar concept. Soldiers can quickly drive the buggy to a position, leave it there, and an operator remotely drives the vehicle back.