CAP DRAA, Morocco - Overland AI in Seattle demonstrated autonomous ground combat operations during the African Lion 2026 military exercise, deploying two ULTRA autonomous ground vehicles alongside U.S. Army and Marine Corps units in breaching, fire support, and defensive missions in Morocco's Sahara Desert.
The demonstrations took place during African Lion 2026, U.S. Africa Command's largest annual joint exercise, held from 20 April through 8 May at the Cap Draa Training Area. The exercise involved soldiers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade and 7th Engineer Brigade, as well as Marines from the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion.
The exercise highlighted the growing military interest in software-defined autonomous ground systems capable of operating in contested and austere environments with limited human intervention. Overland AI officials positioned the ULTRA platform as part of a broader shift toward autonomous and distributed battlefield operations integrating robotic vehicles, remote weapon systems, sensors, and mesh-networked communications.
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Field exercises
During one counterattack scenario, an ULTRA vehicle equipped with a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station provided suppressive fire while a second ULTRA vehicle integrated with an Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System cleared concertina wire obstacles alongside dismounted troops. In a separate defensive mission, a single ULTRA vehicle emplaced XM204 terrain shaping munitions to establish a defensive obstacle belt.
According to the company, the autonomous ground vehicles navigated berms, anti-vehicle ditches, tank walls, minefields, and other obstacles during the live exercises.
Overland AI said the ULTRA platform integrates the company's OverDrive autonomy software stack, SPARK hardware infrastructure, and modular payload architecture to support multiple mission types, including reconnaissance, breaching, logistics, counter-uncrewed aerial systems operations, casualty evacuation, and electronic warfare support.
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The platform reflects broader Pentagon interest in autonomous systems that combine edge artificial intelligence processing, sensor fusion, mesh-networked communications, and modular payload architectures into lower-cost attritable combat systems capable of operating in GPS-degraded and contested environments.
Sensing technologies
Although the company did not disclose the vehicle's complete sensor suite, Overland AI said the platform is designed for autonomous off-road maneuver in austere environments where commercial self-driving systems are not intended to operate. The architecture emphasizes terrain reasoning, autonomous navigation, and distributed operations in unstructured battlefield conditions.
The ULTRA platform is also designed to support distributed battlefield networking through local mesh communications, 5G connectivity, satellite uplinks, and integration with the Army Tactical Assault Kit command-and-control environment. The company said operators can monitor and task multiple autonomous systems simultaneously through the OverWatch command-and-control interface.
Byron Boots, co-founder and chief executive officer of Overland AI, said the African Lion exercise demonstrated the increasing role autonomous systems are expected to play in future battlefield breaching and fire support operations.
The company said soldiers trained on the OverWatch command-and-control interface achieved independent mission planning and multi-vehicle tasking capability within hours.
The ULTRA vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of 3,500 pounds, can carry payloads up to 1,000 pounds, and reaches speeds up to 35 miles per hour. The platform is powered by a 999cc engine rated at 114 horsepower and has an operational range of approximately 100 miles, depending on terrain conditions.
