US Army Tests UNEX Amphibious Robot in Germany Ahead of Possible Fielding
Tested at the Kinetic Reach exercise in Baumholder, the 2,200-kilogram unmanned platform can carry up to 1,700 kilograms, aiming to cut human risk in frontline resupply.
U.S. Army soldiers put the UNEX unmanned amphibious vehicle through its paces at the Baumholder Training Area in Germany as the Kinetic Reach exercise opened on November 10. The battery-powered, fully electric platform, built by the Czech-Ukrainian venture ABRIS Design Group, is designed to move across both land and water.
According to an Army Recognition report published November 12, soldiers from the 95th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, part of the 16th Sustainment Brigade under the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, operated the vehicle. Pfc. Blade Lindsey, a radio equipment repairer by trade, was shown driving UNEX during the demonstration, which was framed as a chance for the developer to gather frontline feedback ahead of any decision on fielding the system.
Supplier-provided figures put UNEX’s dry weight at roughly 2,200 kilograms, with a payload capacity of up to 1,700 kilograms. On land it tops out around 20 km/h, while in water it slows to about 5 km/h. A single charge is rated for up to six hours of operation, and the vehicle can clear obstacles up to one meter high on its low-pressure tires. Its overall dimensions and operational range have not been disclosed.
UNEX is remotely operated but also offers semi-autonomous navigation and a follow-me mode, per the supplier’s own description. Its advertised roles center on resupply and casualty evacuation rather than combat; notably, no armed variant of the vehicle appeared at the Baumholder demonstration.
One unresolved detail concerns attribution: the Army’s own xTech Kinetic Reach listing credits “Mountain Horse Solutions” with UNEX, while Army Recognition’s report attributes the design to ABRIS Design Group. The article does not clarify whether the two firms have a licensing or distribution relationship, leaving that question open for now.
UNEX is one of several finalists in the program’s uncrewed, automated ground recovery category. Army Recognition’s report is explicit that participation in the exercise “does not confirm a procurement award, receiving unit, or service-entry date” — the Army may follow up with further proposals, or the program could simply end here. No test results, requested modifications, or formal Army performance assessment have been made public.
The demonstration lands within a wider push inside the U.S. Army toward unmanned ground systems. The Army Research Laboratory’s autonomy report from September 2026 lists human-machine teaming, operational efficiency and lethality among its priority goals, echoing an Army Transformation Initiative memo from May 2025 that called for faster fielding and quicker adaptation of existing equipment. Fiscal year 2026 acquisition priorities likewise earmark funding for autonomous refueling, rearming, medical triage and breaching tasks, and a pilot Robotic Autonomous Systems Leader Tactics Course began at Fort Benning in February 2026 to train soldiers to operate this generation of platforms.
The broader trend is already visible in Ukraine, where wheeled and tracked “robot mule” platforms have become common for resupply runs and casualty extraction under fire, prompting NATO armies to look seriously at comparable systems. Estonia’s Milrem Robotics THeMIS remains the most widely fielded example to date, but UNEX’s amphibious capability sets it apart for the river crossings and coastal terrain common across much of Europe.
Baumholder itself functions as one of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s principal training and storage hubs in Europe, and running the trial there — rather than at a dedicated test range — reflects an Army preference for evaluating new technology directly within the infrastructure operational units already use. Whether UNEX advances beyond this stage will depend on how it compares against the program’s other finalists, and no timeline for that next evaluation step has been announced.
Sources:
Army Recognition, “U.S. Army Soldiers Test UNEX Unmanned Amphibious Vehicle Ahead of Potential Fielding,” November 12, 2026, https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2026/u-s-army-soldiers-test-unex-unmanned-amphibious-vehicle-ahead-of-potential-fielding — primary source for technical specifications, test location, unit details and program status.
