Milrem Robotics—the world’s leading robotics and autonomous systems developer—will deliver over 150 THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to Ukraine as part of a donation funded and coordinated by the Netherlands. A significant portion of these vehicles will be assembled and delivered in collaboration with VDL Defentec.
The donation was initially announced in September, however, the identity of the contributing country was not disclosed. On 6 October, the Dutch Minister of Defence, Ruben Brekelmans, joined Milrem Robotics and VDL for a formal announcement and signing ceremony at VDL’s facility in Born to mark the agreement.
The deliveries will be executed by Milrem Robotics Netherlands in close cooperation with VDL Defentec, which is establishing a dedicated final assembly line at its Born facility. The assembly setup is designed for scalability, enabling further production and deliveries in response to future requirements.
Milrem Robotics will deliver comprehensive training to Ukrainian operators and support staff to ensure efficient deployment and maintenance in the field.
“We are honoured to lead this project in partnership with the Netherlands and VDL. The THeMIS platform has already demonstrated its value under combat conditions, and we believe this contribution will materially strengthen Ukraine’s defence capability,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.
“This initiative highlights the strength of cooperation between partners in Europe’s defence industry and their ability to scale up and contribute directly to international security. Establishing the assembly line in Born supports this donation and creates a foundation for future production and innovation between Milrem Robotics and VDL in the Netherlands,” said Willem van der Leegte, CEO of VDL Groep.
The new units will add to the 15 THeMIS vehicles already in operation in Ukraine, which have been proving their effectiveness on the battlefield since 2022.
THeMIS is a proven and highly adaptable unmanned vehicle platform designed to support dismounted forces, logistics, reconnaissance, and combat support missions. It is currently part of robotics programmes or in service in 19 countries, making it the most widely deployed UGV in its class.
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