Latvia’s combat-tested ground drone shows off in Finland

Latvian company NATRIX, already a supplier of ground drones to Latvia’s armed forces, showed its battle-tested unmanned ground vehicle to Finnish military and security officials on Oct. 8, driving it through forest terrain and hauling cargo at an unmanned ground systems demonstration in Mikkeli, Finland.

The event was organized by Millog, the Finnish defense maintenance company that services much of the Finnish Defence Forces’ equipment, and brought together several manufacturers of ground drones. NATRIX attended with its Finnish partner Armatech Finland, the company said in a LinkedIn post, and showed the vehicle to representatives from several branches of the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Ministry of Defence, the Finnish Border Guard, the Police of Finland and international military delegations.

In its live demonstration, NATRIX said the vehicle showed its mobility and ability to cross obstacles in rough forest terrain, carried cargo, and was driven remotely by an operator. The company also briefed visitors on lessons from the platform’s use in combat.

The NATRIX UGV is a compact, battery-powered vehicle built for front-line resupply, casualty evacuation and reconnaissance support. The company says it can carry more than 200 kg (440 pounds) of cargo and can be fitted with a NATO-standard stretcher to bring out wounded troops, and that its communications use several backup channels to stay connected in jammed environments.

The platform began combat testing in Ukraine’s Donbas region in early 2025, after the first vehicles were funded through a donation campaign run by Latvian public media and the Ziedot.lv charity platform. Co-founder Gatis Vectirāns said at the time that a fully charged vehicle could travel about 20 km (12 miles), and that Ukrainian operators had praised its power and build quality, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported.

In April 2026, Latvia’s Ministry of Defence signed contracts with NATRIX and two other Latvian companies, Brasa Defence Systems and LV-Teh, to supply domestically made ground drones and gradually introduce them into regular units of the National Armed Forces, The Defence Blog reported. The deals followed live demonstrations on military training ranges in 2025 and include support, repair and modernization, as well as the right for Latvia to order more systems quickly under the same framework.

Ukraine now relies heavily on ground drones to move ammunition, food and water to positions where Russian surveillance drones make vehicle and foot traffic dangerous, and to evacuate wounded soldiers under fire. Finland, which shares a 1,340 km (830-mile) border with Russia, has been studying those lessons as it expands its own forces.

NATRIX is developing autonomous features such as “follow me” and automatic return modes and plans to add mine-clearing equipment and weapon integration. Last month the company also unveiled a separate ground drone designed to patrol critical infrastructure such as energy sites, ports and airports, and it said the Mikkeli demonstration opened talks with Finnish defense and security officials on possible future cooperation.