Germany, Estonia to supply Ukraine with 14 THeMIS ground drones

The Estonian company announced the contract on its website.

Drones are designed to transport the wounded and clear traffic routes. The German Ministry of Defense financed their purchase.

Out of 14 vehicles, 7 will be assigned to evacuate the wounded and will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of this year. Another 7 will be delivered in the second quarter of 2023 and will be used for clearing traffic routes. French manufacturer CNIM Systèmes Industriels will supply the drones with special equipment for this purpose. 

"Evacuating the wounded and clearing a route are two time-consuming tasks that require several people and puts them under constant threat of enemy fire. Automating these tasks with unmanned vehicles reduces this danger and allows more troops to remain in a safe area or perform more important tasks," explained Jüri Pajuste, defense research and development director at Milrem Robotics.

The company noted that this year Milrem Robotics supplied a THeMIS drone, which turned out to be a valuable asset, to a Ukrainian charity for evacuating the wounded.

THeMIS drone from Milrem Robotics is a multi-purpose tracked vehicle that can be equipped with a variety of systems. It has cameras that allow it to examine dangerous areas and spare servicemen from unnecessary danger. The German company KMW acquired a share of the Estonian manufacturer of ground drones Milrem Robotics in 2021.

THeMIS is remotely controlled. It can be programmed to move independently from point to point. According to the developer, the drone can reach the speed of 25 km/h.

The machine has compact dimensions; it is 240 cm long, 200 cm wide and 115 cm high. With a curb weight of 1635 kg, it has a nominal load capacity of 750 kg, and a maximum load capacity of 1200 kg. It can operate autonomously for up to 15 hours, and on electric drive up to 1.5 hours. The drone can operate on either lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries.