A NATO drone maker is testing its weapons in Ukraine — with its CEO actually heading to the battlefield to see it firsthand
Lithuanian company Granta Autonomy was founded in 2015 and was among the first to send drones to Ukraine. The company began sending its drones in March 2022, just a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
At the start, the company simply collected feedback remotely. But the company's CEO, Gediminas Guoba, told Business Insider that this was "not enough." He needed to understand exactly how his products worked on a real battlefield and what needed to be improved.
That insight was "kind of a breakthrough for us," informing new features, components, and upgrades.
Work to advance warfighting technology like drone tech is of particular importance for this company because Lithuania would be on the front lines of any potential war between Russia and NATO, and there are concerns within the decades-old alliance that Russian aggression could one day stretch beyond Ukraine.
It's not a product until it's been tested in Ukraine
Granta Autonomy makes drones and components that can operate with autonomy when radio and GPS signals are denied and are able to support intelligence-gathering, surveillance, and target acquisition.
With NATO armed forces, "your systems get used maybe once a month, as for example, during exercises and so on," the CEO explained.
But in Ukraine, he continued, "when you deliver your system, it is used every day and many times during the day." That's great for learning how the product works because that's how it is designed to be used. "It's needed every day, and they use it every day."
The drone manufacturer has delivered 1,000 of its GA-10FPV-AI quadcopter drones, which can carry a payload of more than six pounds and be used for attack and surveillance. It has a contract to send nearly 4,000 more to Ukraine and more than 2,300 to Lithuania's armed forces. Ukraine also uses Granta's Hornet XR drone, a fixed-wing reconnaissance drone that can covertly travel up to 99 miles, for combat operations.
The company only considers something a product if it's been battlefield-tested in Ukraine. "Until then, it's just like an idea; it's a prototype," Guoba said.
Guoba said that he actually visits the battlefield himself "just to understand how it really works."
He said it's one thing for him to hear about how his product is working, "but that's completely different when you are there and you are feeling, when you're absorbing that environment," the continuous shelling, the Russian jamming, the drones chasing soldiers wherever they go.
He said that "it's a completely different experience being or working here and just getting feedback from operators."
About more than helping the Ukrainians
Guoba wants his products in this fight "not only to help Ukraine," but also to help his own country.
Lithuania shares a border with Russia and is among the NATO countries most vocally warning that Russia may attack elsewhere in Europe. Former CIA director David Petraeus said in May that Lithuania was the country he thought was most at risk of a Russian invasion, an aggressive act that would draw the rest of the NATO alliance into a war.
Defense companies in those countries are among the most keen to give their products to Ukraine and learn from the war. Many countries across Europe, as well as the US, are watching Ukraine's fight to see what would be needed in such a conflict, from weaponry to strategy.
Drone warfare is a key area they can study. Drones are being used more in this war than in any other conflict in history, and drone and counter-drone technology are rapidly evolving, with both sides constantly innovating new technology and tactics.
Guoba said his company has had to make constant adaptations, including to make its drones more survivable or give them greater reach in battle.
"You need to keep improving your technology, improving your product, making it more reliable to ensure that it keeps bringing value in the modern battlefield. Something that worked two years ago and was okay two years ago is not okay anymore," he said.
Guoba added that "being there, learning new lessons, and improving our products, it's the key thing."
Working with Ukraine
Guoba's view is one shared by other Western defense companies. Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO of Milrem Robotics, which develops military robotics and autonomous systems, told Business Insider that his company has a team that regularly visits Ukraine and meets with military units, working directly with operators.
The products are used in a "totally different environment than in peacetime training or exercise environment."
Väärsi said that the feedback from and performance in Ukraine have led them to make big changes to their products: "What we have learned and changed and implemented in our systems is everything related to EW, communication, and cyber."
Western defense companies, many military officials, and Ukraine itself all say they see value in working and testing tech in Ukraine, which has been striving to make it easier for foreign companies to test their systems on the battlefield, fueling innovation in warfare.
Many partner militaries want their nations' companies to be in Ukraine. Luke Pollard, the UK's armed forces minister, said in May: "If you are a drone company and you do not have your kit on the frontline in Ukraine, you might as well give up."
Some of the big Western defense companies, like Germany's Rheinmetall, are opening offices and production lines in Ukraine and working with Ukrainian defense firms. It allows them to get help to Ukraine faster, as well as learn what works best against Russia.
Ukraine is also inviting foreign arms manufacturers to send weapons prototypes so its troops can test them against Russia in battle, with Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister for digital transformation, calling it "an opportunity to gain experience that cannot be simulated in laboratories."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
11 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Russia is experimenting in Ukraine's robot war with uncrewed rocket launchers, hoverboards, and a box on wheels
Ukraine's drone industry has developed a wide array of new uncrewed ground vehicles, but Russian forces are innovating with their own designs, too. While Moscow has been testing remote ground-based weapons since the early years of the war, a wider variety of rudimentary — and sometimes unusual — designs have been emerging this summer. Take, for example, a remote-controlled four-wheel buggy that pro-Russian Telegram channels called an "assault" Termit drone from a battalion of the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army. Instead of a weapons system, it's fitted with a chair that can accommodate a single soldier. Its rear can stow weapons, food, and water containers, the popular Russian Telegram channel Military Informant wrote in a post on Wednesday. Notably, this Termit drone variant leaves the soldier completely exposed. Another unique type of Russian logistics ground drone was recently filmed by a Ukrainian first-person-view drone. A clip published on Sunday by Ukrainian drone crowdfunding activist Serhii Sternenko shows that the Russian design essentially featured an open box on wheels. Sternenko wrote that the ground drone was destroyed and was transporting provisions near the front lines. On Thursday, a Russian page dedicated to armor and artillery systems published schematics of a tracked, uncrewed multiple-launch rocket system that can fire 10 munitions at once. The page, wrote that the ground drone was being developed by a Moscow-based engineering firm. The drone appears to resemble the TOS-1A, a Soviet multiple-launch rocket system mounted on a tank chassis and operated by a three-person crew. However, the TOS-1A features 30 barrels, triple that of the new drone. Russian forces have also been experimenting with carrying explosives via remote-controlled hoverboards. One popular Russian military blogger, Two Majors, published several clips in April of a ground drone built with two hoverboard scooters. "They can be used as kamikaze vehicles, as vehicles with a smoke screen, as self-propelled observation vehicles, and even for demining," the Telegram channel wrote, asking followers to donate such scooters to the Russian military. Another Russian Telegram channel, Victory Drones, published images in May of similar ground drones fitted with TM-62 anti-tank mines. "The main advantages of such drones are stability provided by gyroscopes and low cost, which makes it possible to use them on a mass scale," it wrote. Then there's the "Dronobus." On August 8, the Russian state news agency TASS published photos of a ground-based uncrewed vehicle that acts as a roving mothership for fiber optic attack drones. TASS wrote that Russian defense engineers are developing the Dronobus, which it reported can accommodate two fiber optic drones with 15-km cables. Russian forces have been making new ground-based drones for years, such as a tracked platform with the Kornet anti-tank missile system that one unit said it tested in March 2023. But the appearance of more varied designs comes as Moscow and Kyiv vie for any possible advantage with uncrewed ground vehicles. In April, Russia's defense minister Andrey Belousov said Russian firms and volunteer organizations had developed "several hundred ground robotic systems." "This year we plan to deliver an order of magnitude more," Belousov said. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been marshaling resources to develop its own new ground-based combat drones, using them to fire at enemy positions, evacuate the wounded, gather intelligence, or drop explosives. Dubbed "iron soldiers" by Ukrainian officials, the use of such combat systems grows more critical as prolonged war strains Ukraine's supply of fresh troops.
Bloomberg
11 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
European Gas Falls Further Ahead of Zelenskiy-Trump Meeting
European natural gas prices fell to a fresh 2025 low ahead of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who faces pressure to reach a peace deal with Russia that involves ceding territory. Benchmark futures extended their drop after the market plunged last week in anticipation of Trump's meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. An agreement to end the war — however steep the possible concessions for Ukraine would be — could ease global supplies if more Russian energy eventually comes to the market.
CNBC
11 minutes ago
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: Trump's 'peace' for Ukraine doesn't seem like what Zelenskyy wants
There was no deal when U.S. President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. That was not unexpected. The summit, which was initially arranged to discuss a ceasefire to Moscow's war in Ukraine, was on Tuesday reframed by White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt as a "listening exercise" that allowed Trump to get a "better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end." Prior to the summit, analysts were already casting doubt on the talks advancing any real ceasefire in Ukraine. "Let's be clear, Putin does not take Trump seriously," Tina Fordham, founder of Fordham Global Foresight, told CNBC. And the fact that the summit was scheduled — and Putin invited to Alaska, the first time he stepped on U.S. soil in about a decade — was already a "big win" for the Kremlin leader, according to a comment by Richard Portes, head of the economics faculty at the London Business School, before the meeting took place. While no agreement was reached, Trump on Friday described the meeting as "very productive" — and announced the next day that he would be pursuing a "peace agreement" rather than a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. But peace means very different things to the Ukraine, Russia and America. To one, it could be the complete halt of armed warfare and the retreat of foreign troops from its soil. To another, it might seem like acquiring annexed territory. And for some, it might look like a shiny golden coin engraved with the profile of Alfred Nobel, regardless of the prerequisites. Trump calls on Ukraine to 'end the war with Russia.' The U.S. president on Sunday said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can either stop the conflict or "continue to fight." Putin has agreed that the U.S. and European nations could give Ukraine "Article 5-like" security guarantees, the White House said. OpenAI in share sales talk that would value it at $500 billion. The shares would be sold by current and former employees to investors including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, according to a source. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperforms. Major stock indexes ended Friday mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising a fractional 0.08%. Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday. China's CSI 300 hit its highest level since October 2024. A trip by U.S. trade officials to India has been called off. The visit, which was expected to take place between Aug. 25 and Aug. 29, will likely be rescheduled, according to Indian news broadcaster NDTV Profit. [PRO] Fedspeak to parse for the week. Minutes for the U.S. Federal Reserve's August meeting come out Wednesday, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at Jackson Hole, a symposium of economic policy, on Friday. They may give clues on policy path. This Asian data center hub is grappling with the massive costs of AI: energy and water Johor, a state at the southern tip of Malaysia, has quietly become one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing data center hubs amid the heightened compute demands of AI. Though that has created new economic opportunities and jobs, there are signs the industry is pushing the limits of the state's energy capacity and natural resources, with officials slowing approvals for new projects.
