{"id":50972,"date":"2025-08-13T15:54:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/08\/13\/paratroopers-test-autonomous-vehicle-with-ai-for-mortar-resupply\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:23:10","slug":"paratroopers-test-autonomous-vehicle-with-ai-for-mortar-resupply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/13\/paratroopers-test-autonomous-vehicle-with-ai-for-mortar-resupply\/","title":{"rendered":"Paratroopers test autonomous vehicle with AI for mortar resupply"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paratroopers recently tested an autonomous vehicle that featured artificial intelligence during Agile Spirit 25 in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army assessed the Overland AI ULTRA Fully Autonomous Tactical Vehicle prototype at the Vaziani Training Area in Georgia on July 29, according to a service release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agile Spirit 25 is a biennial multinational exercise that aims to maintain security and stability for the Black Sea Region, Col. Will Cox, co-exercise director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep soldiers off the front lines and keep our warfighters safe,\u201d Adam Ungar, senior program manager at Overland AI, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ungar said an autonomous vehicle can be put in harm\u2019s way \u2014 in place of a soldier \u2014 to help save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ULTRA is an all-wheel, off-road vehicle with a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour. It can carry up to 1,000 pounds, with a cruising range of 100 miles at 20 miles per hour, depending on the type of terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUncrewed systems are radically changing the character of war,\u201d Byron Boots, co-founder and chief executive officer at Overland AI, said in a statement. \u201cWe are developing autonomous ground vehicles like ULTRA to provide safety by taking the warfighter out of harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultra ran resupply tests for 60mm and 120mm mortar units. Soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry, 173rd Airborne Brigade had practiced with the system months before the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually did some training on it [the ULTRA] back in Germany about two months ago,\u201d Pfc. Jonathan Brooks, a mortarman with 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Fauth, lead exercise planner for the U.S. European Command-directed exercise Agile Spirit 2025, said the objective is to understand how technology can be used in practical ways on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExercises are the way we practice and test those capabilities,\u201d Fauth said in a statement. \u201cWe break something, we fix it, then we come back and do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teams have complete oversight of ULTRA if it has connectivity and a re-transmitting signal using the Internet or satellites. Teams can also pre-program commands, such as traveling in certain patterns or to precise locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would love to see more of it [the ULTRA] in the future,\u201d said Spc. Jack Padberg, a mortarman with 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. \u201cI think it can help us, as mortars, a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n