Swarmer to acquire Ukrainian UGV maker Ratel Robotics for up to $224M

Swarmer Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Ratel Robotics, a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), in a deal valued at up to $224 million in cash and stock if all earnout milestones are reached.

Swarmer said Ukrainian companies have shown they can develop and field autonomous systems at a fraction of the price charged by Western defense contractors.

Alex Fink, co-founder, president and U.S. CEO of Swarmer, called Ratel "a major provider of UGVs for Ukraine." He said combining a battle-tested launch platform with combat-proven autonomy software is the key to creating versatile, interoperable solutions, and that he is pleased Ratel CEO Taras Ostapchuk and his team will be the first to join Swarmer and grow its business in Ukraine and beyond.

Founded in 2023 and based in Austin, Texas, Swarmer specializes in vendor-agnostic software that lets a single operator control hundreds of autonomous platforms in real time. Its main mission areas are autonomous swarm coordination, integration of multi-domain unmanned systems, and AI-powered autonomy software for distributed operations.

The company says its intelligence layer lets large numbers of low-cost drones and robots operate as a coherent, resilient force. Swarmer claims the technology has been validated in real combat, with first deployments in Ukraine in April 2024, and says it has since completed more than 100,000 combat missions, generating terabytes of proprietary data used to refine its machine-learning models. It maintains operations and teams in Ukraine, Poland and Estonia.

An editor's note states that field robotics is among the session tracks at RoboBusiness 2026, scheduled for Oct. 20 and 21 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Kyiv-based Ratel Robotics has developed systems for Ukraine's Defense Forces since 2023, and its UGVs perform battlefield logistics, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, de-mining, strike and drone-launch missions.

CEO Taras Ostapchuk, who served in Ukraine's armed forces, said that experience gave him firsthand understanding of the risks soldiers face and inspired him to build robotic systems that take on the most dangerous missions and protect human lives.

Ratel is also developing an integrated autonomy ecosystem that includes two uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) variants, mobile workshops and solar-powered trailers. Ostapchuk said the two companies plan to combine ground and aerial capabilities with rising levels of autonomy, describing it as the next stage in the evolution of modern warfare, in which fewer people are exposed to risk.

The company said it works with international partners, and that every serial Ratel H and Ratel M model carries a NATO stock number under NCAGE Code A3X8J as well as AQAP 2110 certification, the NATO standard for quality assurance in design, development and production.

Ratel has secured contracts totaling $86 million this year and is in talks with multiple NATO nations under the "Build With Ukraine" initiative. Its products account for about 37% of the 11 billion UAH ($246.85 million) spent by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense Procurement Agency on UGVs from Jan. 1 to April 18, 2026. Fink said those contracts will not be affected by the acquisition.

Fink noted that Ratel is unusual in the sector because it has no salespeople, no government relations staff and no lobbying, with sales driven almost entirely by combat units that want its products because they are secure.

Swarmer chairman Erik Prince said in a recent letter to shareholders that the company aims to build a platform company for products tested on the battlefield and proven under the most demanding conditions, and that Ratel fits that mission precisely.

The acquisition will consist of a mix of cash and stock worth up to $224 million if all earnout milestones are met. Closing remains subject to customary conditions and required legal, regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Ratel Robotics expects its more than 300 employees to join Swarmer on closing, bringing the combined company to nearly 500 people. Ostapchuk will remain CEO of Ratel Robotics, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and report directly to Fink.

Fink said Swarmer can serve as a vehicle for companies with strong technology, pairing them with marketing, sales teams on three continents, a compliance apparatus and access to U.S. capital markets for the working capital needed to buy parts ahead of manufacturing.

Prince said the deal would also diversify the supply chain beyond Ukraine, and acknowledged that Swarmer is looking for other defensive and offensive acquisitions. He said Ukrainians have figured out how to wage war in an innovative, low-cost way that is vastly superior to what the Western defense industry has achieved, and that the task is to convert that knowledge and cost-effectiveness into a sustainable, profitable enterprise.

A year ago, Swarmer's Ukrainian parent raised $15 million in Series A funding led by U.S. investors. Other notable defense robotics investments this year include Saronic's $1.75 billion Series D, Hadrian's $1.37 billion, Mach Industries' $600 million and Shield AI's $500 million. Crunchbase estimated that $14.6 billion had been invested in military, national security and law enforcement companies as of June 2, compared with $9.6 billion for all of 2025. Fink said every company in the space that he knows of has grown more than fivefold this year, and told The Robot Report that Swarmer cannot plan to integrate drone swarms with Ratel's UGV technology until the deal is approved.