Ground drone Ziesel: Diehl Defence tests UGV at 2,000 metres with the Bundesheer

A ground drone in high-mountain conditions: at around 2,000 metres above sea level, the team from Diehl Defence recently took the opportunity to test the Ziesel unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) together with the Platon autonomy package. The venue was the Lizum/Walchen training area of the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer); the demanding trials were conducted jointly with Meier Medizintechnik.

Ground drone in the snow: driving behaviour and autonomy in focus

The main question was how the platform handles unpaved, snow-covered ground and whether the autonomy system works in extreme weather. The aim was to assess how vehicle, sensors and autonomous control interact under realistic loads.

In a recent report on the test in Austria, Diehl Defence writes: “Unmanned systems – both airborne and ground-based – already play an increasingly important role on the battlefield and will gain further significance in future”. The report continues: “This makes it all the more crucial to test and evaluate such systems early and under the harshest possible operating conditions. This applies in particular to platforms that are still at the beginning of their product life cycle.”

From the company’s perspective, the trial at Lizum/Walchen therefore shows two things: Diehl Defence’s technological ambition in autonomous ground systems, and the value of realistic test scenarios in developing future military capabilities.