Denmark's Defence Materiel and Procurement Agency (DALO) has bought nine unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) from Danish/Ukrainian company Dropla. The Dropla 4x4 vehicles will be used to train conscript drone operators at the Danish Defence Drone Centre (FDC).
Dropla is a Danish company founded by Ukrainians, based in Denmark and active in Ukraine. According to DALO, the agency is looking at fitting the vehicles with remote weapon stations and communications equipment, based on lessons from Ukraine.
The purchase is part of DALO's wider trials of unmanned ground vehicles. Earlier this year, DALO bought eight UGVs for the Danish Army: four THeMIS from Estonia's Milrem Robotics and four MFP-1 from Britain's XRC Robotics. DALO says those vehicles were tested successfully in operational scenarios.
– We are seeing rapid development in unmanned systems. That is why it is important that we build experience with the technology, said Colonel Thomas Øgendahl Knudsen, head of DALO's Land Division.