Kyiv-based defense contractor Ukrainian Armor has shipped an initial 10 Protector unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the Ukrainian National Guard under a German-backed procurement effort for 100 platforms.
Four units of the service have accepted the vehicles, according to the Protector’s developer, noting that each transport drone cost nearly 3.9 million hryvnias ($87,763) on Ukraine’s online military marketplace Brave1.
The company highlighted that Berlin financed the contract to help troops optimize frontline resupply and casualty evacuations while maintaining safety throughout hazardous routes.
“Based on the positive feedback from the military and understanding the need to protect people at the front, partners have contracted 100 of our complexes,” Ukrainian Armor Director General Vladyslav Belbas said.
“Robotization of logistics allows us to perform important tasks without unnecessary risk to personnel.”
Ukraine’s Protector System
The Protector UGV features a 1,480-kilogram (3,263-pound) payload capacity and can tow trailers weighing up to 4 tonnes (8,818 pounds).
It offers a 400-kilometer (248-mile) range, run-flat tires, and dual Starlink and LTE communications links for sustained connection between command and deployed teams.
Kyiv cleared the ground drone for military use in the summer of 2025. The vehicle then received a 12.7mm machine gun integration later that year to boost the armed forces’ autonomous lethality against unmanned aerial systems, armored threats, enemy soldiers, and crewed aircraft.
Currently, an artillery brigade operating near Dobropillia is already using the platform to haul heavy artillery shells, local sources reported.
