Two small uncrewed ground vehicles (sUGVs) have recently entered the market: Teledyne Flir Defense’s FIRSTLOOK 125 throwable reconnaissance robot and AeroVironment’s TOM 50RE robot for reconnaissance and explosive ordnance disposal. Both systems aim to fulfill the same demand: to provide ground units, especially dismounted troops, with reconnaissance capabilities.
Released during SOF Week in May, the FIRSTLOOK 125 “delivers real-time visual, thermal, and audio situational awareness across complex terrain,” the company explained in a 19 May press release.
During a 7 July exclusive interview between FW MAG and Nate Winn, Product Management Director, Unmanned Systems North America at Teledyne FLIR Defense, the company confirmed that production of the new platform is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026. There is a client already for FIRSTLOOK 125 from an unspecified Asia Pacific country, FW MAG was told.
FIRSTLOOK 125 and the BLACK HORNET 4 nano drone share a similar architecture, allowing a single operator to control both systems with a single controller. The ability to simultaneously control ground and aerial assets provides troops with a significant advantage, Winn added.
The small platform can be carried by one person – it weighs 2.6 kg (5.lbs) and, thanks to its tracks, can go up “stairwells, rubble, and uneven ground.” Winn believes the FIRSTLOOK 125’s weight puts the robot in a category of its own, as it is very but still able to engage in ISR missions. FIRSTLOOK 125 is built to last, as it can resist up to 5m (16ft) drops and self-rights “instantly.” The small UGV has an enhanced EO/IR camera suite, integrated illumination, and two-way audio to “low-light, GPS-denied, and cluttered operational conditions,” the company said in its press release.
Winn added that FIRSTLOOK 125’s controller is universal, but the monitor/screen can be any Android device, meaning dismounted troops and operators in vehicles or at a facility can use it.
Similarly, AV’s newest addition to its family of uncrewed systems is the TOM 50RE, a compact, backpackable system developed by its subsidiary, Telerob. Released during the recent Eurosatory expo in Paris, the UGV can also be carried by a single operator, weighing less than 10 kg (22 lbs) and offering an endurance of around 5 hours. The system also has four integrated high-resolution wide-angle cameras with infrared capability for 360-degree awareness. Tobias Waibel, Product Line Manager at AV, confirmed to FW MAG that the platform is ”already available for order. We plan to make the first deliveries at the end of this year.”
The TOM 50RE’s “tracked design, stair-climbing flipper system, and dedicated mobility attachments allow it to overcome obstacles, navigate stairs and uneven terrain,” the company explained in a 15 June press release. Thanks to its onboard simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) capability, the TOM 50RE can generate “detailed maps” of interior spaces, including multi-level buildings and global positioning system (GPS)-denied environments such as underground structures and dense urban terrain. The operator can also “identify and record points of interest directly within the digital map.”
According to Waibel, there are two primary options to control the TOM 50RE: “for dismounted personnel, we recommend using AV's field-proven Tomahawk Grip S20 controller,” while for troops at a command base or vehicle, “ we recommend Telerob's field-proven Robo Command,” which includes a larger display and 3-axis joysticks.
The uncrewed market is increasingly congested, and there is now a focus by both militaries and industry on developing uncrewed systems at echelons, namely not solely costly systems for divisions and brigades, but also systems for crewed vehicles and dismounted troops that are attritable, easy to use, and light enough to be person-portable.
The goal for the future of warfare is to efficiently integrate these small systems, such as Teledyne FLIR Defense’s FIRSTLOOK 125 and AV’s TOM 50RE, into ground troops' operations.
Experiments and exercises are already happening, for sure. In April, the 3rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team carried out an exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center involving troops deploying two UGVs and 25 attack drones to destroy enemy positions, making the situation safe (or safer at least) for troops to follow. It is unclear whether any small reconnaissance UGVs, like those mentioned in this analysis, were also deployed prior to the “attack of the robots.”
Just as troops are learning to integrate emerging aerial and ground technologies into their tactics, so are defense industries learning how troops see the future of warfare.
In the aforementioned scenario, Waibel believes that his company’s TOM 50RE could have helped the troops prepare for the “all-robot” offensive, as the platform is person-portable and can be deployed “for reconnaissance to detect obstacles, traps, or the landmines themselves.” Moreover, the sUGV also features a DropCharge mission module, allowing it to transport C4 (or similar explosives) to neutralize land threats.
As for FIRSTLOOK 125, Winn explained that in this new era of warfare “we are learning what uncrewed systems like UGVs are good for and what they are not good at.” He added that small UGVs can provide value to “fill in” the gaps in an aerial drone’s limitations. (Winn also noted that potential customers are already discussing with Teledyne Flir Defense how to add new capabilities to their family of uncrewed small vehicles).
The strategy outlined by the 3rd MBCT suggests that, in the future, small ground units will seek to create a mini-network of different uncrewed systems to engage in attack operations. Hence, the availability of software from different defense industries that can work together easily is of primary importance. AV’s Waibel explained to FW MAG that their “UGV can act as a mobile repeater to extend the range of other systems.” Teledyne Flir Defense’s Winn similarly told FW MAG that “we understand our family of systems has to fit into networks” in which different uncrewed platforms work together.
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