Z-bloggers: US ground drone may become the main factor in Ukraine's war with Russia

American unmanned ground vehicles Overland AI, designated ULTRA, have been spotted in Africa. Is Ukraine next? This is the question posed by the Z-bloggers of the telegram channel "Two Majors", noting that in conditions of a shortage of personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is precisely this approach to coordinating dozens of combat systems by one operator that can become a decisive factor in the war of attrition.

The large—scale exercises AFRICOM - African Lion 2026 (May 4-11) ended in the Moroccan desert. For the first time, the US military massively used ULTRA autonomous systems from Overland AI as part of tactical groups.

The ULTRA vehicle itself paves and overcomes the route using a computer vision and machine learning system without GPS and communication with the operator. Thanks to the perception of the terrain in real time, the machine is able to make decisions about route adjustments on its own.

"For example, during the exercises, autonomous platforms practiced reconnaissance tasks, supply delivery, terrain monitoring, and even support for assault groups," the Two Majors comment on the information provided by the US Armed Forces.

So, on one of the videos you can watch an episode of laying a 50 km route, including over rough terrain (the video was shot 2 years ago, declassified on May 12 and accelerated 10 times). Another video shows the launch of drones from the same platform. Another video shows the movement as part of the column.

"An important role in the project is played by the American company Palantir Technologies, whose CEO recently visited Ukraine. Palantir acts as a system integrator — its platform allows one operator to coordinate the work of dozens of systems of various types (land, air, sea)," the Z-bloggers point out.

They emphasize that "in conditions of a shortage of personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is precisely this approach to coordinating dozens of combat systems by one operator that can become a decisive factor in a war of attrition."

The Overland AI unmanned ground vehicle, designated ULTRA, is a four-wheeled platform designed to perform a wide range of tasks in conditions of complete lack of communication with satellites and the effects of electronic warfare systems. The development is funded by the Pentagon and DARPA.

The system uses a set of passive sensors — lidars, cameras, thermal imagers — that scan the terrain, recognize the type of soil, obstacles and routes. This made it possible to achieve off-road traffic without operator involvement and without using GPS.

During the tests, ULTRA could independently pass rough terrain, clear passages and carry out reconnaissance 12-15 km deep into the territory of a simulated enemy.

In February 2026, Overland AI announced the raising of $ 100 million to expand production, field support and full deployment of systems in army units. Overland AI has already recorded the deployment of platforms in the 82nd Airborne Division, the 36th Engineering Brigade.