Ukrainian ground robot maker doubles production, eyes ventures with foreign partners

WARSAW, Poland — Ukraine’s unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) manufacturer Trinity Robotics plans to double its production to some 2,200 units this year, benefiting from the rapidly rising use of ground robots in the Ukrainian Army’s operations.

The company is in talks with a French producer to launch manufacturing of its solutions abroad and is also looking for partners in other European countries, according to a senior company representative.

Oleksii Konik, the co-founder of Trinity Robotics, told Defense News that the company initially planned to make around 1,100 UGVs this year, but, with the Ukrainian military increasing its orders, the business is ramping up throughput at its facilities in Ukraine.

“We work with the [Ukrainian] military procurement agency and more than 20 military units directly,” Konik said. “The most important mission that we have now is the robotization of the battlefield, because only this will allow our country to win the war.”

The company’s flagship UGV, Konyk One, is suitable for performing logistics and medical evacuation tasks. At the same time, Trinity Robotics is working on a new variant that will be fitted with a turret. This will enable users to deploy the UGV for combat operations, according to the co-founder.

While some Ukrainian officials expect the country’s ban on exporting weapons could be lifted this year, local defense companies are currently prohibited from exporting their wares. Meanwhile, Trinity Robotics is discussing cooperation with partners from allied countries to produce its unmanned vehicles abroad.

“We are looking for partners, manufacturers from Europe that manufacture trucks, vehicles, military parts,” Konik said. “We have an opportunity to create a joint enterprise in Europe … to produce our UGVs.”

“This will allow us to give additional volumes of our UGVs to our end users who are interested in that,” he said.

Under Kyiv’s Build with Ukraine program, joint manufacturing isprimarily intended to cover the needs of the country’s armed forces, but surplus output can be exported to other countries.

The company’s co-founder said that Trinity Robotics is currently negotiating with an unnamed French producer to launch a joint venture and produce its UGVs abroad. The Ukrainian manufacturer is also working to secure funds for its expansion, with recent investors including Sweden’s Front Ventures and Hede Capital Partners.

In its standard version, Konyk One weighs 460 kg (1,014 lb) and has a load capacity of up to 300 kg, according to data from the producer.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——乌克兰无人地面车辆 (UGV) 制造商 Trinity Robotics 计划今年将其产量翻一番，达到约 2200 台，这得益于乌克兰军队行动中地面机器人使用量的快速增长。

据该公司一位高级代表透露，该公司正在与一家法国生产商洽谈，计划在海外开展其解决方案的生产，同时也在其他欧洲国家寻找合作伙伴。

Trinity Robotics 的联合创始人 Oleksii Konik 告诉《防务新闻》，该公司最初计划今年生产约 1100 辆无人地面车辆，但随着乌克兰军方增加订单，该公司正在提高其在乌克兰工厂的产能。

科尼克说：“我们直接与乌克兰军方采购机构和20多个军事单位合作。我们现在最重要的任务是战场机器人化，因为只有这样才能使我们国家赢得战争。”

该公司旗舰无人地面车辆（UGV）Konyk One适用于执行后勤和医疗救援任务。与此同时，Trinity Robotics正在研发一款配备炮塔的新型号。据联合创始人称，这将使用户能够将该UGV部署到作战行动中。

尽管一些乌克兰官员预计该国今年可能会解除武器出口禁令，但目前乌克兰本土国防企业仍被禁止出口其产品。与此同时，Trinity Robotics公司正在与盟国合作伙伴商讨在海外生产其无人驾驶车辆的合作事宜。

科尼克表示：“我们正在寻找合作伙伴，寻找欧洲生产卡车、车辆和军用零部件的制造商。我们有机会在欧洲成立一家合资企业……生产我们的无人地面车辆。”

“这将使我们能够向对此感兴趣的最终用户提供更多数量的无人地面车辆，”他说。

根据基辅的“与乌克兰共同建设”计划，联合生产主要是为了满足该国武装部队的需求，但剩余产品可以出口到其他国家。

该公司联合创始人表示，Trinity Robotics目前正与一家未透露名称的法国生产商洽谈成立合资企业，在海外生产其无人地面车辆（UGV）。这家乌克兰制造商也在努力筹集资金以扩大规模，近期投资者包括瑞典的Front Ventures和Hede Capital Partners。

根据生产商提供的数据，标准版的 Konyk One 重 460 公斤（1,014 磅），最大承重为 300 公斤。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。