Swarmer to acquire Ukrainian UGV maker Ratel Robotics for up to $224M

anduril — ratel Robotics makes uncrewed ground vehicles for Ukrainian defense. The company today said it has signed an agreement to acquire Ratel Robotics, a leading manufacturer of uncrewed ground vehicles or UGVs.

“Ratel is a major provider of UGVs for Ukraine,” stated Alex Fink, co-founder, president, and U.S. CEO of Swarmer. “Combining a battle-tested launch platform with our combat-proven autonomy software is the key to creating versatile, interoperable solutions. We are excited to have [CEO] Taras Ostapchuk and his team at Ratel Robotics be the first to join Swarmer and grow our business in Ukraine and beyond.” Founded in 2023, Swarmer said it specializes in vendor-agnostic software that allows one operator to control hundreds of autonomous platforms in real time. The Austin, Texas-based company‘s primary mission areas include autonomous swarm coordination, integration of multi-domain unmanned systems, and AI-powered autonomy software for distributed operations. Swarmer said its intelligence layer enables large numbers of low-cost drones and robots to operate as a coherent, resilient force. The company claimed that its technology has been validated in real battlefields, with first deployments in combat operations in Ukraine in April 2024. Since then, Swarmer said it has completed more than 100,000 combat missions, generating terabytes of proprietary data to refine its machine-learning models and enable the replication of advanced pilot performance at scale. The company maintains operations and teams in Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia. Register now and help us celebrate 20 years of RoboBusiness! Ratel Robotics develops robots for dangerous missions “Having served in the armed forces of Ukraine, I understand firsthand the risks soldiers face on the battlefield,” said Ostapchuk. “That experience inspired me to create robotic systems capable of taking on the most dangerous missions and protecting human lives. Ratel Robotics has developed systems to support Ukrainian Defense Forces since 2023. The Kyiv, Ukraine-based company‘s UGVs perform battlefield logistics, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, de-mining, strike, and drone-launch missions. Ratel is also developing an integrated autonomy ecosystem, including two uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) variants, mobile workshops, and solar-powered trailers.