Autonomy at Scale: The Inevitable Future of Ground Combat

Nic Adams, Director of Government Relations | December 17, 2025

As the sun begins to creep above the horizon, a low humming replaces the eerie quiet that reigned moments before. Autonomous ground vehicles break through what remains of the shattered tree line and across a cratered landscape toward the first defensive line, with aerial drones persistently scanning for movement to deter defenders from leaving their concealed positions. Artillery begins to hammer the defensive trench as the ground vehicles close in, breaching the obstacles to their front while downing enemy drones launched to intercept them with precision counter-UAS fire. Within minutes, the defensive line is breached, allowing the attacking infantry to quickly overwhelm the defenders and consolidate their position on the battlefield while suffering minimal casualties.

This scenario may sound like something out of science fiction, but elements of it are already visible on today’s battlefields—most notably on Ukraine’s eastern front. While the fully autonomous ground vehicles described above are not yet breaching obstacles, downing enemy drones, or resupplying forward deployed troops, their arrival in land warfare is an inevitability, and Overland AI is leading the charge to ensure American forces and our allies have the advantage. With aerial drones already haunting battlefields in Ukraine as well as those in Azerbaijan and Armenia just a couple of short years ago, their counterparts on the ground are just around the corner.

This is not a speculative thought experiment. Indeed, among the major themes at this year’s Reagan National Defense Forum, held annually in California’s Simi Valley, was the need to incorporate cutting-edge technology into our combat formations, at scale. Both at the event and in subsequent public remarks, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has repeatedly emphasized that future battlefield advantage depends on rapidly integrating new technologies into operational units—not leaving them stuck in labs, pilots, or endless experimentation—, as well as reviving the American defense industrial base. Only then will the United States capitalize on our inherent strengths in production capabilities, capital markets, and innovative culture to field the combat systems of the future.

The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 also emphasizes defense modernization, acquisition reform, and specifically the need for artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Congress correctly seizes the moment and clearly directs the Department of Defense and the services to move quickly and effectively toward developing, testing, and fielding critical technologies needed to deter and, if necessary, win future conflict.

Overland AI has taken the initiative in the nascent field of ground autonomy, providing proven, trusted, and dependable systems to warfighters in the field both here in the United States and overseas. By embedding with the United States Marine Corps 2^nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, and the 82^nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, Overland AI’s autonomous ground vehicle, ULTRA, exceeded expectations in a variety of use cases, including contested resupply under realistic operational conditions. With the 75^th Ranger Regiment, ULTRA conducted live-fire counter-UAS missions armed with a kinetic payload designed to counter enemy drones. And with the 36^th Engineer Brigade at Fort Hood, Overland AI’s autonomy stack enabled a tracked vehicle to breach obstacles and minefields by deploying a Mine Clearing Line Charge (MCLIC) without the need to put humans in harm’s way. In each case, Overland’s robots were tasked with a mission and were able to execute with minimal intervention, a testament to the engineering that has enabled an entirely new paradigm in ground combat. Moreover, ULTRA’s ability to maneuver off-road, over rugged and unforgiving terrain at operationally relevant speeds, makes Overland’s product unmatched in the ground autonomy space.

Feedback from end users continues to validate not only the technology, but also the urgent operational need for it. We have heard the demand signal clearly—from service members, from Congress, and from the Department of Defense—and stand ready to deliver autonomy at scale. There should never come a day when American combat troops are sent into a fair fight. And Overland AI will ensure they possess an unfair advantage.