Performing tasks on the front lines without putting people at risk: what TerMIT ground robots are capable of

In December 2024, dozens of ground robots were involved in one of the first robotic military operations in the world’s history, which spent National Guard Brigade of Ukraine «Charter» in the Kharkiv sector. This year, the Ministry of Defense plans to supply the military with 15,000 ground drones, a significant part of which will be TerMIT ground robots from Tencore LLC — we will tell you what we know about these multipurpose metal soldiers.

What is the TerMIT UGV?

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) TerMIT — is a modular-tracked platform that allows for a range of combat missions, from delivering supplies and ammunition to the front line to demining, evacuating the wounded and providing fire support without risking human life.

A multipurpose robot was developed by the Ukrainian company Tencore LLC. In early 2024, its co-founder and director, Maksym Vasylchenko, received a request from friends from the 17th Tank Brigade who needed automated transport. Together with his partners, he developed the design of the machine, and in March, the first 10 robots were delivered to the combat units.

The TerMIT tracked chassis is 1.44 meters long and — 1.24 meters wide, which allows it to be transported in the trunk of a pickup truck. If desired, it can be used to mount a load of up to 300 kg, a combat module with a machine gun or grenade launcher, an electronic warfare module, a smoke production unit, a 20-miner, etc.

At the same time, when there are no targets to destroy, the combat module can be replaced with an engineering module in 10 minutes, mine a certain area, return and re-install a machine gun or grenade launcher. Likewise, It is convenient that this does not require sophisticated tools: a few wrenches and a wrench are enough.

The standard package consists of the robot itself in the selected configuration, a ground control station with an antenna, a remote operator’s seat, trawls for descending from the vehicle, spare parts with additional tracks and drive shafts, tool storage cases and a backpack for carrying the controller.

Modifications of TerMIT for the intended purpose

Logistics

The main military profession of the mechanical «insect» is currently logistics. With a range of 10 km per battery (two can be installed) and a payload of 300 kg, TerMIT can deliver provisions and medical supplies to «zero» and evacuate the wounded on the way back.

How reported on Telegram, Mykhailo Fedorov said that in some brigades these robotic systems cover more than 40 km per night and perform most of the logistical tasks of a car or light armored personnel carrier. This way, instead of a group of people, a single robot goes to a dangerous area, which can be repaired in case of damage.

Fire support

Currently, the TerMIT UGV is equipped with a combat module with a 12.7 mm Browning machine gun from Devdroid, a «Predator» module or a «Storm» module with a Mk-19 grenade launcher from Frontline.

All modules allow our defenders to fire at the enemy from a distance without endangering themselves. When using the Browning machine gun, the effective range of fire is 1000 meters, and when using the Mk-19 grenade launcher, it increases to 1800 meters.

The built-in «Bury» stabilization system allows the weapon to fire on the move and automatically re-target faster than the operator. Both normal and programmed firing modes are available for the operator, when the turret fires shots in a certain sequence according to the coordinates stored in the memory.

Mine clearance

TerMIT robots reduce risks and speed up the process demining. For example, they are purchased by the charitable foundation «Come Back Alive» and the company «Kyivstar». As part of the «We Live Here 2.0» project, they provided four companies of engineering unmanned systems in the Armed Forces Support Forces with tracked sappers.

Each company kit consists of TerMIT ground tracked drones, «Cockroach» wheeled drones, Vampire drones with thermal imaging camera, Mavic 3 UAVs and off-road vehicles with an open luggage compartment. The equipment is operated by four-person crews: an NRC operator, a UAV operator, an explosives technician and a driver.

The advantage of this approach was the ability to use high-quality, inexpensive and already proven modules from other Ukrainian manufacturers, such as the automatic machine gun turret from Devdroid or the «Predator» combat module, instead of reinventing the wheel every time.

Passability

The caterpillar drive provides TerMIT with high cross-country ability on any surface: mud, snow, sand, rocks or debris. And the low center of gravity allows it to transport cargo over terrain with large angles of inclination. A clear illustration of the design advantages of the Tencore robot is its ascent to one of the highest peaks of the Carpathians — Mount Pin Ivan Chornohirsky.

Communication

Reliable communication with the robotic platform is perhaps the main requirement of the military. TerMIT has solved the problem by using several complementary control channels that can be used individually or combined for greater reliability. These are a simple single-lever remote control with a range of up to 150 meters, an analog TX remote control with a control range of up to a kilometer, a digital communication system with a range of up to 8 km (can be extended with a Mavic UAV-based repeater), and a Starlink module.

Price

The optimal ratio of simplicity/functionality and the widespread use of Ukrainian components allowed us to set the price of the product at $12,000. This is an important indicator, given that on a modern battlefield, any man-portable weapon is a consumable. A foreign analog for $300 thousand has the same chances of not returning from the first combat mission.

Technical characteristics of the TerMIT in the basic configuration

Length	1445 mm
Width	1240 mm
Height	540 mm
Weight	120 kg
Load capacity	300 kg
Reason	two electric motors with a capacity of 1 kW each
Power reserve	10 km with one battery 20 km with two batteries
Working hours	12 hours
The maximum angle of ascent/descent	30°
Video cameras	Day and night
Basic connection	ELRS, Crossfire, Silvus, WiFi