StateWatch has prepared an analytical report on the Russian unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) industry, covering financing structures, key manufacturers, the impact of Chinese components, and gaps in the sanctions regime. In total, 32 UGV models have been identified, with the manufacturing legal entity established for 29 of them. At least 20 types of UGVs have been documented in combat use against Ukraine.
At the same time, the Oboronka outlet analysed how the Russians are deploying unmanned ground vehicles in the war against Ukraine.
The key shift is that the industry has moved from state-owned defence-industrial plants to private companies and public-private partnerships, and in 2024–2026 has entered serial production.
The most widespread UGVs:
- Kurier (Kaps NRTK LLC),
- Varan (Agentstvo Tsifrovogo Razvitiya LLC),
- Impuls (Gumich-RTK LLC),
- Omich/Omich-2 (Reng LLC)
— are supplied to the front in quantities ranging from several dozen to several hundred units.
The entire industry is critically dependent on Chinese components. The supply of components for Russian UGVs is effectively a subset of the supply chain for UAVs. A significant share of the components is common to both types of drones — electric motors, batteries, controllers, cameras, communication modules, and so on. Moreover, some of the companies are manufacturers of both unmanned aerial and ground drones.
At the same time, sanctions restrictions barely touch those companies that actually supply UGVs to the front. Of the 20 identified manufacturers, 10 are under US sanctions, 9 are under Ukrainian sanctions, and only 3 are under EU sanctions. Moreover, the sanctioned entities have predominantly been “old” defence-industrial plants whose products either did not reach the front or are used to a limited extent. By contrast, the lion’s share of the largest serial manufacturers of “new” UGVs is not under sanctions in any jurisdiction, despite the confirmed combat use of their machines against Ukraine.
To learn more, read the full text of the report: