U.S. Army robot mule contest gets BLADE’s Hunter WOLF

BLADE, the robotics company formerly known as HDT, said it has submitted its Hunter WOLF unmanned ground vehicle for the U.S. Army’s Infantry Last Tactical Mile initiative, a prototype effort to use robotic vehicles for resupply and casualty evacuation near the front line.

The company was one of six vendors the U.S. Army selected for the program in August. BLADE confirmed on Oct. 6 that the Hunter WOLF, a six-wheeled diesel-electric hybrid robot built for light and dismounted infantry, is the vehicle it will field. The company did not disclose the value of its agreement or how many vehicles it will provide.

The program, known as ILTM, focuses on the most exposed stretch of ground between rear support units and the forward line of own troops, where soldiers moving ammunition and supplies forward, or carrying wounded back, are most likely to come under fire. The U.S. Army chose the six vendors through prototype Other Transaction Agreements. The others are Maren-Go, Overland AI, Forterra, Hendrick’s Motorsports and American Rheinmetall.

According to the U.S. Army, the vendors will deliver production-ready prototypes that go through a series of demonstrations and assessments, ending with an operational assessment alongside an Army unit in early 2027. Feedback from that rotation is meant to inform a production decision on the Army’s next generation of autonomous infantry systems.

BLADE says the Hunter WOLF can carry 2,800 pounds (1,270 kg) autonomously, drive through dense forest, climb 60 percent grades and cross 40 percent side slopes. It can also supply electrical power to other equipment and accept different payloads depending on the mission, from cargo to casualty evacuation. The company describes the vehicle as production-ready and at Technology Readiness Level 9, the highest rating on the U.S. military’s scale, which indicates a system proven in actual operations.

“The Hunter WOLF is engineered, manufactured, field-proven and ready to support warfighters in challenging contested environments,” said Tom Van Doren, president of robotics at BLADE.

“It is battle-tested and field-proven to be the Army’s solution for the most dangerous and logistically complex segment of the battlefield,” Van Doren said.

The Hunter WOLF has been in service since 2017 and received upgrades in 2025. BLADE has run a string of evaluations with U.S. Army units this year, including the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division, and an August event with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The company has said the vehicle has supported the U.S. Marine Corps, Australian forces and the Ukrainian army and has been used in more than 60 field exercises.

In May, the company delivered Hunter WOLF vehicles to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Polk under the U.S. Army’s Ground Optionally Autonomous Transport effort, training soldiers to operate and maintain them across several mission configurations.