Ground drones for the front: Ukrainian Ministry of Defence approves the Bizon-L UGV

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has codified a new system among its ground drones: the Ukrainian-developed Bizon-L may now be used operationally in the Ukrainian armed forces. Six communication channels, including LTE, Wi-Fi and Starlink, ensure reliable control even in a hostile electronic warfare environment.

The Bizon-L unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is designed for operations in modern, high-intensity combat environments. Its control system operates the platform and its combat and functional modules through a single interface.

Performance data and chassis

A few minutes are enough to bring the Bizon-L into combat position. The platform reaches up to twelve km/h, carries a payload of up to 300 kilograms and has an operational range of up to 50 kilometres.

Swamps, snow, ice and rough terrain: the chassis is specifically designed for such conditions. Owing to its design, the UGV also has a low thermal signature, which reduces its detectability in the infrared spectrum.

Tasks along the line of contact

The versatile tracked platform is intended to cover a wide range of tasks along the line of contact without endangering personnel. Above all, the system can transport supplies and ammunition and evacuate the wounded.

With additional equipment the range of tasks expands: the Bizon-L can then lay engineer obstacles, mine areas and carry antennas, communication relays and electronic warfare systems as a mobile platform. A weapon station with a 12.7 mm machine-gun turret can also be fitted.

More ground drones to the front

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, Ukrainian UGV systems supported more than 22,000 missions over the past three months. In March alone, more than 9,000 combat and logistics missions at the front were carried out using UGVs. The head of state stressed:

In other words: lives were saved more than 22,000 times – robots went into the most dangerous areas instead of soldiers. This is about high technology protecting the highest value, human life— Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine

Against this background, the Ministry of Defence has stepped up the pace of delivering UGV systems to the front. The goal is to make up to 100 per cent of front-line logistics robotic. It expects to sign contracts for 25,000 such robotic systems in the first half of 2026 – twice as many as were awarded in the whole of the previous year.

So far, the Defence Procurement Agency (DOT) has concluded 19 contracts with manufacturers with a total value of 213 million euros. The military can order unmanned ground vehicle systems via DOT-Chain Defence: units select UGV systems themselves and order them independently. Combat and logistics tasks can thus be carried out without sending personnel into the combat zone.