IDV, the UGV challenge: cooperation with Ukraine to accelerate

Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV) has announced the rebranding of the British company MIRA UGV to IDV Robotics, following the acquisition of a majority stake completed in January 2023. The new entity, based in the United Kingdom, represents the core of IDV's activities in the uncrewed ground vehicle (Uncrewed Ground Vehicle – UGV) sector, an area experiencing unprecedented growth both technologically and operationally.

The official debut took place at the DSEI 2023 fair in London with the presentation of the multirole platform VIKING, a high-mobility 6x6 UGV designed for critical missions: reconnaissance, fire support, last-mile resupply, casualty evacuation, and operations in CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) scenarios.

Alongside VIKING, IDV Robotics brings advanced technologies such as MACE, a proprietary autonomy stack capable of ensuring semi-autonomous and autonomous operations, navigation in GNSS-denied environments, advanced terrain recognition, and integration with unmanned aerial systems (UAS), in a RAS (Robotic Autonomous Systems) perspective.

Ukrainian interest: UGVs as a survival tool

In the ongoing conflict against Russia, UGVs are proving to be one of the most valuable force multipliers. Borys Kremenskyi, military attaché of the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, has repeatedly emphasized how Kiev is ready to test any platform offered by the industry.

“We are ready to take any system to test it,” he stated, highlighting that the ability to constantly innovate is essential: “If you don't innovate for two months, you're dead. You have to change.”

UGVs find application in extremely varied operational scenarios:

• Electronic Warfare (EW): the front lines are saturated with signals, and ground drones are equipped with EW modules to operate in hostile environments.
• Medical evacuation: Russian drones also target vehicles marked with medical symbols, making UGVs essential for safely transporting the wounded.
• Demining: with over 20% of Ukrainian territory contaminated by mines, UGVs represent a safer tool compared to human operators.
• Reconnaissance and surveillance: systems like the Droid TW, developed in Ukraine and operational since 2024, use artificial intelligence algorithms to identify enemy forces.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has already authorized, in the first half of 2025 alone, the deployment of about 30 new UGVs and remote weapon stations, signaling a rapid acceleration in the robotization of the armed forces.

Opportunities for IDV: strategic cooperation and NATO implications

The Ukrainian context, characterized by unprecedented operational pressure, represents a unique war laboratory where experimental technologies are tested daily. For IDV Robotics, aiming to establish itself as a European leader in the sector, the possibility of collaborating with Kiev would mean not only refining its systems in real scenarios but also consolidating its role within the NATO supply chain.

The partnership with Ukraine could allow IDV to quickly test and adapt its platforms like VIKING and the autonomy package MACE, benefiting from immediate technological returns and operational feedback that would be difficult to obtain in traditional training contexts.

The growing adoption of UGVs by Ukraine also risks redefining allied standards: solutions developed and validated in the field could be integrated into NATO doctrines, accelerating the spread of interoperable robotic systems among Western armed forces.

Events like GVSETS 2025 have clearly shown that modern warfare requires autonomous, modular, and technologically advanced solutions. In this framework, IDV has the opportunity to position itself as a technological bridge between Western innovation and the Ukrainian testing ground, while simultaneously strengthening the European defense industrial fabric.

Conclusion

The future of land warfare is increasingly unmanned. For Iveco Defence Vehicles, through the newly established IDV Robotics, cooperation with Ukraine could represent the decisive step to transform technological know-how into next-generation operational capabilities.

A synergy that would not only increase the chances of survival on the field for soldiers but could also consolidate the European defense industry in the autonomous systems sector, strengthening NATO's technological and strategic posture.