Press Release
Hanwha has teamed up with Estonia’s Milrem to jointly pursue Romania’s unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) program, marking a strategic step to diversify its footprint in the European defense market.
The teaming agreement was signed on the second day of the Black Sea Defense & Aerospace (BSDA) 2026 exhibition in Bucharest by Hanwha Aerospace, its Romanian subsidiary Hanwha Aerospace Romania (HARO), and Milrem Robotics.
The trilateral agreement establishes a collaborative framework to combine the companies’ respective strengths in wheeled and tracked unmanned systems, while supporting Romania’s requirement for localized production and industrial participation.
Under the partnership, Hanwha Aerospace Romania is expected to serve as the prime contractor, providing wheeled UGV platforms based on Arion-SMET and its upgraded variant GRUNT, a high-mobility 6x6 platform designed for extended range, heavy payload, and modular mission adaptability. Milrem Robotics will contribute its THeMIS tracked UGV platform and related technologies as part of Hanwha’s broader integrated UGV offering for Romania. THeMIS is recognized for its stability in rugged terrain, hybrid propulsion, and flexible integration of mission payloads.
The collaboration reflects a coordinated approach among leading UGV defense manufacturers, with Hanwha leading the overall program proposal, localized production, and industrial participation efforts in Romania, while integrating complementary unmanned technologies from Milrem Robotics to deliver a tailored operational solution for Romanian defense requirements.
By integrating Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS — one of the world’s leading tracked UGV platforms — into Hanwha’s integrated UGV offering, the partners aim to establish a mutually beneficial structure that strengthens competitiveness in both the Romanian program and broader global markets.
Lino Lim, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace Romania, said :
“We are pleased to mark this collaboration at BSDA 2026, which represents an important step in bringing advanced unmanned capabilities into Romania through localized production and industrial cooperation. By combining next-generation UGV technologies from the two companies, we aim to deliver a flexible and scalable solution tailored to Romania’s operational needs, while contributing to the development of its defense industrial base and strengthening European cooperation.”
Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics, said:
“Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS is one of the first unmanned ground vehicles in Europe that has successfully entered series production. With two established manufacturing sites in Europe and extensive experience in technology transfer, we see strong potential to expand manufacturing capabilities to Romania in cooperation with Hanwha, while strengthening regional defense manufacturing capacity.”
Meanwhile, Hanwha Aerospace and Milrem Robotics successfully conducted a live Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) demonstration on May 12 near Bucharest ahead of BSDA 2026. The demonstration integrated Hanwha’s TIGON armored vehicle, GRUNT unmanned ground vehicle, and Milrem’s THeMIS Cargo platform in a realistic battlefield scenario involving reconnaissance and surveillance missions, logistics resupply, casualty evacuation, and drone-enabled battlefield monitoring under simulated electronic warfare conditions.
The live demonstration drew strong attention from Romanian military leadership and defense officials, underscoring the growing cooperation between Hanwha Aerospace and Milrem Robotics in advancing next-generation unmanned battlefield capabilities for the Romanian and broader European defense market.
