Ministry of Defence codified Tanchik Droid 12.7 ground combat robot

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has codified and approved the Ukrainian-designed Tanchik Droid 12.7 unmanned ground vehicle for use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The system is designed for reconnaissance and engaging enemy targets with direct fire.

The unmanned ground vehicle manufactured by Overland Defense, is intended for remote battlefield surveillance, reconnaissance missions, and engaging enemy personnel, unarmoured vehicles, and lightly armoured vehicles. The system is operated remotely by an operator from a protected position via a secure radio link.

As Defender Media has learned from the manufacturer, the Tanchik Droid 12.7 is equipped with a warhead module armed with a 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun developed by Ukrainian company DevDroid, with an ammunition load of 300 rounds. The system is also fitted with the DroidBox control system.

The ground robot has an operational range of up to 25 km off-road or up to 35 km on paved roads, with a maximum speed of 10 km/h and 15 km/h respectively. The system can operate continuously while moving for up to 1 hour and 40 minutes and remain on station in surveillance mode for up to 48 hours.

To detect targets, the robot is equipped with front and rear video cameras and a thermal imaging camera, providing detection ranges of up to 1,500 m during the day and up to 1,000 m with the thermal imaging channel.

The unmanned ground vehicle is currently being prepared for serial production, with the cost of a single robot amounting to approximately UAH 1.6 million.

The Ministry of Defence also reported that during the first half of 2026, 67 new models of unmanned ground vehicles were codified and approved for use by the Defence Forces. Through the DOT-Chain defence marketplace, units of the Defence Forces have already received 1,028 unmanned ground vehicles of various modifications worth a total of UAH 487.2 million.