Estonian robotics and autonomous systems developer Milrem Robotics has delivered the first THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry, through the Directorate of Armament and Material, awarded the contract for one THeMIS UGV to A.Paukner, SA, Milrem Robotics’ representative in Spain.
The THeMIS was acquired in the framework of the Scorpion programme launched in early 2021 to evaluate the capabilities of existing UGVs.
During the first phase of the programme a list of missions will be defined that can benefit from the usage of unmanned ground systems.
“The THeMIS has already proven itself in 12 countries, seven of which are members of NATO, as a capable, robust and versatile system,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.
“We are glad that Spain has joined as the 13th user of THeMIS and chosen Milrem Robotics as a partner to build their robotic and autonomous systems capabilities.”
The THeMIS UGV is a multi-mission capable system intended to support dismounted troops that can serve as a mule for transporting a squad’s gear or be rapidly converted into a weaponised remotely operated unit to offer force protection.
According to Milrem Robotics, the system is the first in its size class deployed to a conflict area during the anti-insurgency operation Barkhane in Mali.
During the deployment, the THeMIS reportedly traversed 1,200km in terrains of lava rock soil and climates reaching 50oC in the shade. The UGV was said to have been operational for longer than 330 hours.
Milrem Robotics was awarded €30.6m (£25.8m) from the European Commission’s European Defence Industrial Development Program to develop a European standardised unmanned ground system (UGS).
During the project, titled iMUGS, modular and scalable architecture for hybrid manned-unmanned systems will be developed to standardise a European-wide ecosystem.
