Transporting supplies across a battlefield is as essential as it is dangerous, exposing drivers to enemy fire and drone attacks. To avoid this risk of human loss, American companies Hypercraft and Forterra have presented at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), which is being held these days in Washington, a driverless military vehicle that combines about 800 kilometers of autonomy with a turret equipped with a shotgun to shoot down drones small.
The platform uses the Razorback of Hypercraft, an unmanned ground vehicle more than four meters in length capable of transporting up to 1,814 kilos. Depending on the manufacturer, it may also supply up to 38 kilowatts of electrical power to external equipment, a capacity that allows other systems to be powered during missions.
One of its most notable features is that It has been designed from the ground up to operate autonomously. According to Scott Sandersgrowth director of Forterra, this has facilitated the integration of its technology compared to other solutions that start from conventional trucks and add the necessary equipment to eliminate the driver after manufacturing them.
Hypercraft, based in Provo, Utah, began its business developing electric propulsion systems for commercial vehicles and later expanded into the defense sector; Razorback is their first complete vehicle.
Forterra contributes AutoDrivea system that combines software, sensors and computers to drive without the intervention of a person at the wheel. The company, formerly known as Robotic Researchis specialized in this technology that It has already been integrated into more than 50 types of vehicles, used in more than 1,100 missions and has accumulated contracts for more than 258 systems..
One platform. Any mission. One purpose. See the Hypercraft Razorback AUSA October 12-14. Inside Forterra’s Booth #461. #ausa #UGV #DefenseTech #forterra #AUSA2026 https://t.co/Ns6yQOKimE
— Hypercraft (@HypercraftUSA) October 9, 2026
Known applications include off-road vehicles Polaris Ranger 1500 used in Ukraine and trucks Ford F-250 for him United States Army. AutoDrive also equips driverless vehicles ROGUE-Firesdeveloped by Oshkosh from his military SUV JLTV. These vehicles transport and launch the system’s anti-ship missiles NMESISused by Marine Corps United States.
Regarding the new vehicle, Sanders told Tectonic that ‘we focus on transporting supplies in contested areas and other missions in which the driver is the most exposed person on the battlefield. Razorback and AutoDrive combine to offer a platform that can go further, traverse more difficult terrain, and power other systems in ways that traditional unmanned ground vehicles do not allow‘.
Protection against drones is provided by Eddaa turret of about 23 kilos developed by 9 Mothersan Austin, Texas company. The system detects the sound of small drones’ rotors and uses cameras to track their movements before firing the turret-mounted shotgun.
Edda is designed to attack drones of approximately 18 centimeters wingspan at distances of between 10 and 100 meters. The US Army already tested this turret in August during a live-fire exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, although it was then installed on a Ford F-250 pickup truck with Forterra autonomous driving technology.
Razorback design allows incorporate sensors, radios, weapons and other equipment from different manufacturers according to the needs of each mission. Hypercraft had already shown it equipped with an anti-drone radar Fortem Technologiesbut the companies have not yet announced military customers, contracts or pricing for the autonomous vehicle.