- The battlefield in Ukraine is changing constantly, and weapons makers are rushing to keep up.
- Drone and ground robot makers said they're designing their systems in ways that allow them to be easily updated.
- They're either modular, meaning parts can be swapped out, or designed so software changes are all that's needed.
Rapid changes on the battlefield in Ukraine are prompting Western weapons manufacturers to reassess how military technology is developed and upgraded.
With the fight evolving quickly, arms companies in Ukraine and Europe say that they can't afford to start from scratch and completely redesign entire systems each time conditions shift.
Instead, companies making aerial drones and ground robots told Business Insider that their focus is now on creating weapons that can be upgraded by simply changing parts or software rather than overhauling the whole system.
Designs are modular, like Lego pieces, with parts being easily swapped out as new mission demands arise. Increasingly, companies are turning to software-first designs for more convenient upgrades.
Defense technology has been moving in this direction, but revelations from Russia's war against Ukraine are injecting new urgency.
Patrick Shepherd, the chief sales officer for Milrem Robotics, an Estonian company that makes autonomous uncrewed ground vehicles and has some in Ukraine, said that these changes are key to staying ahead, as they provide much faster adaptation than what "traditional, monolithic designs" permit.
A rapidly changing battlefield
Ukraine's soldiers say that battlefield tech can become out of date in weeks and months, with electronic warfare, new drone countermeasures, and new tactics blunting once-effective systems.
Among the companies involved in this evolving technology battle is DroneShield, an Australian company that develops counter-drone technology and operates across Europe. It has multimillion-dollar US military contracts and has multiple systems in Ukraine.
Matt McCrann, CEO of DroneShield's US arm, said that the drone and counter-drone fight has sped up globally since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, cutting development cycles to weeks rather than months or years.
The only way to keep pace, he said, is to build "systems that are not fixed, solving the problem of today, but ones that can address an issue today and adapt as needed."
Lithuanian drone company Granta Autonomy was one of the first companies to send drones to Ukraine. CEO Gediminas Guoba said the company needs to build systems that are not simply ready for this year or the next, but can be updated and upgraded for new operations even further into the future.
That means building systems that can be easily reworked. Anything else, he said, and "we will lose the battle."
Changing parts, not the whole
McCrann said the faster development cycle is why DroneShield has put greater emphasis on modular and adaptable designs.
Likewise, Shepherd said that Milrem builds flexibility into its systems from the outset, allowing sensors, payloads, mission systems, and other components to be integrated, removed, or upgraded without redesigning the entire vehicle.
Achi, the CEO of Ukraine's Ark Robotics, which makes autonomous robots used by nearly two dozen Ukrainian brigades, said the company focuses on making its platforms "as cheap and as mass producible as possible." He spoke to Business Insider using a pseudonym as a security precaution.
"And then when we get this right, we can do surface-level customization," like adding armor or additional equipment. The base platform remains the same, letting the company scale production without driving up costs.
Latvia-based Origin Robotics manufactures both drones and drone interceptors used by Ukrainian and NATO forces. Its CEO, Agris Kipurs, told BI that the company also prioritizes modular systems to adapt quickly to battlefield changes.
Modular designs aren't just for companies striving to keep their edge in a competitive industry. Warfighters need them too. Ukrainian soldiers have said they need flexible systems that can be easily modified at the front.
Oleksandr Yabchanka, the head of robotic systems for Ukraine's Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, previously told Business Insider that the ground robots his unit uses can be configured for different missions, be it evacuating wounded troops or attacking Russian positions. He said the robots work like Lego bricks.
Shepherd said that Milrem's robots follow the same logic, avoiding designs built around a single mission. They can be customized by soldiers for evacuation, explosive disposal, intelligence gathering, or weaponized roles.
In some cases, soldiers adapt systems in ways manufacturers did not anticipate.
Western companies say they are learning from those changes. McCrann said Ukraine has been technologically innovative "because they have to be," and that this is driving industry adaptation.
Companies sometimes have group chats and FaceTime calls with Ukrainian soldiers to get real-time feedback, and weapons software is where they can make the biggest changes the fastest.
Quick, remote tech changes
Shepherd said that software is now playing a central role in adapting systems, whether for command-and-control integration or mission management. "Software updates can be developed, tested, and deployed much more quickly, allowing lessons learned from the field to be integrated on shorter timescales," he said.
McCrann said DroneShield has focused on a software-first approach, where upgrades add new capabilities without hardware modifications.
Guoba said Granta Autonomy's drones have not changed much over the last year or two, but the software inside them, on the other hand, "is changing every month."
Software can be remotely pushed to weaponry already in Ukraine, eliminating the need to ship gear back to the factory. That speed, and the ability to test changes quickly, has made software the preferred tool for rapid adaptation.
Ultimately, Ark Robotics' Achi said, "software is easier to do."
Ark's aerial drones and ground robots rely on onboard and server-based software, and the company is developing systems to allow thousands of platforms to operate together with minimal human involvement.
He said Ark also deploys engineers forward to implement software changes tailored to specific units or missions. It follows a similar approach for hardware, though those changes take longer to implement.
Kipurs said Origin makes its systems "software-intensive" so development is continuous, "with updates regularly pushed to improve systems that have already been delivered."
It only uses hardware changes "when they provide clear benefits across all intended users." Because the company also builds for NATO customers, systems must remain broadly interoperable.
Shepherd said companies still need to strike a balance. Systems must remain reliable, so not every update can be rushed to the field. The key, he said, is close collaboration with Ukrainian soldiers and fast but disciplined feedback loops.
