UK plans to invest in UGVs in context of Ukraine experience
A Viper F UGV manufactured by UkrArmoTech in collaboration with Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps' AB3.Tech platform seen at Eurosatory 2026. (Janes/Tamara Rozouvan)
The UK's Secretary of State for Defence, Dan Jarvis, announced that the government's Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will include money for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for the British Army during a speech on 23 June 2026.
The UK defence secretary confirmed the investment in UGVs as the British Army seeks to modernise its land forces. Jarvis said that unmanned systems, along with AI and autonomy will receive investment that “reflects their strategic importance”.
During his address at the RUSI Land Warfare conference, Chief of General Staff General Sir Roly Walker said that “in the future, no crewed ground vehicle should ever deploy without a supporting array of UGVs”. He also said the importance lies within the mission modules, the software and the combat deployment methods of UGVs. “Today, only in Ukraine and in Russia have they truly learned how to fight like that,” he said. During the address, Gen Walker also expressed the need for scaling Task Force Rapstone, a British Army initiative aimed at accelerating the fielding of new capabilities based on lessons learned in Ukraine.
Ukraine experience
In April 2026, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that for the first time a Russian position was captured using only unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UGVs. “The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” Zelensky said. He did not specify the date of the operation, the unit, or the platforms used.
In June 2025 the NC13 unit from Ukraine's 3rd
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