Ground drones for Romania: Hanwha and Milrem Robotics join forces in UGV programme

To jointly advance Romania's programme for ground drones, i.e. unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), Hanwha has entered into a partnership with the Estonian company Milrem Robotics. Strategically, the move aims to broaden its own presence in the European defence market.

The cooperation agreement was signed on the second day of "Black Sea Defense & Aerospace 2026" (BSDA 2026) in Bucharest. The partners are Hanwha Aerospace, its Romanian subsidiary Hanwha Aerospace Romania (HARO; -> Hanwha Aerospace sets up artillery production in Europe) and Milrem Robotics. The trilateral framework is intended to combine the companies' expertise in wheeled and tracked unmanned systems while meeting Romanian requirements for local production and industrial participation.

Wheels and tracks: the roles in the ground drones partnership

Hanwha Aerospace Romania is to act as prime contractor. It will supply wheeled UGV platforms based on the Arion-SMET and its further development GRUNT. The latter is a highly mobile 6×6 platform designed for long range, high payload and modular adaptation depending on the mission. Milrem contributes THeMIS, a combat-proven tracked UGV platform. It is considered stable in difficult terrain, has a hybrid drive and can flexibly accommodate mission payloads.

The cooperation reflects a coordinated approach by leading defence manufacturers. It promotes technology transfer and local production in Romania while strengthening broader European industrial cooperation through advanced unmanned solutions tailored to local operational requirements— Milrem Robotics in a press release

Hanwha is including THeMIS in its integrated UGV offering. Both sides are expected to benefit: their competitive position is to improve both in Romania's programme and in other markets worldwide.

We are pleased to celebrate this cooperation at BSDA 2026, which represents an important step in bringing advanced unmanned capabilities to Romania through local production and industrial cooperation. By combining the next-generation UGV technologies of both companies, we aim to deliver a flexible and scalable solution tailored to Romania's operational needs, while contributing to the development of its defence industrial base and strengthening European cooperation.— Lino Lim, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace Romania

Live demonstration ahead of the show

As early as 12 May, i.e. before BSDA 2026 opened, the two partners had successfully demonstrated manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) live near Bucharest. Involved were Hanwha's TIGON armoured vehicle, GRUNT as an unmanned ground vehicle and Milrem's THeMIS Cargo. The realistic combat scenario included reconnaissance and surveillance missions, logistics resupply, casualty evacuation and battlefield surveillance with drones – all under simulated electronic warfare conditions.

The demonstration attracted great interest from the Romanian military leadership and from representatives of the Ministry of Defence. At the same time, it made clear how closely the two companies now cooperate in developing future unmanned combat capabilities – for Romania and for the European defence market as a whole.

Milrem Robotics' THeMIS is one of the first unmanned ground vehicles in Europe to have successfully entered series production. With two established production sites in Europe and extensive experience in technology transfer, we see great potential to extend manufacturing capacity to Romania in cooperation with Hanwha while strengthening regional defence manufacturing capacity— Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics