IDV (part of Leonardo), through its US subsidiary IDV USA, announced its selection by the US Army's Capability Program Executive Office Mission Autonomy as 1 of 4 participants in the Engineer Autonomous Breaching Capability (EABC) initiative. The other 3 selected companies are Caterpillar (Irving, Texas), Forterra (Clarksburg, Maryland) and Overland AI (Seattle).
Both the EABC and the parallel Project Sustainment — focused on medium-sized ground robots for logistics missions — stem from requests for prototype proposals released in spring 2026 by the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. The 4 contractor selections were announced on July 9, 2026.
The EABC program focuses on the development of autonomous systems designed to operate on the battlefield in support of units tasked with breaching complex obstacles and minefields under enemy fire, thereby minimizing risk to personnel during this high-danger activity. The proposed technologies range from autonomous commercial equipment to purpose-built robotic platforms, both featuring modular payloads to support varied breaching requirements.
IDV's proposed solution leverages the company's expertise in unmanned ground systems and several other key robotics technologies. The core of the proposal (pictured) is the VIKING Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV): a 6x6 wheeled platform with a 750 kg (1,653 lb) payload capacity, capable of rapidly integrating a variety of mission systems and payloads, featuring advanced navigation capabilities designed for operations in contested environments with degraded GNSS signals.
The US Army specified that the EABC initiative will involve a series of demonstrations and operational evaluations, culminating in a Transformation in Contact unit assessment in early 2027. The results will inform the production decision for the next generation of autonomous engineer systems.
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