German unmanned ground vehicle gets Ukrainian SABER weapon station

German defense startup ARX Robotics and Ukrainian manufacturer Roboneers have completed initial integration tests of Roboneers' SABER remote weapon station on ARX's GEREON unmanned ground vehicle, and plan to start fitting armed versions by the end of 2026, the companies announced on Oct. 29. The first SABER modules will be integrated in M2 and MK 19 (M) configurations, built around the .50-caliber M2 heavy machine gun and the 40 mm MK 19 automatic grenade launcher. Deliveries will follow the operational needs of Ukraine's Defense Forces, the companies said. They did not disclose how many armed GEREONs Ukraine will receive, the value of any order, or when the first vehicles will reach frontline units. "Modern armed forces require platforms that can adapt quickly to different missions, integrate new technologies and work seamlessly with existing systems. This is exactly what GEREON was built to deliver: modularity, interoperability and mission-readiness. Together with ROBONEERS, we demonstrate that new defence tech companies can move at the speed the theatre of combat demands – delivering capabilities where it matters most," said Maximilian Wied, CFO and co-founder of ARX Robotics. The pairing splits the work between the two systems. GEREON supplies mobility, electrical power and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors, while the SABER mount carries the weapon and handles fire support. SABER is a modular family of remotely operated weapon stations designed to take different weapons, from assault rifles to grenade launchers, so a unit can choose the armament for a mission while keeping the same ground vehicle. Until now, Roboneers has fitted SABER mainly to its own vehicles, and the integration adds the GEREON as another carrier. "The SABER combat module is designed to adapt to the operational needs of military units, not the other way around. The integration with the GEREON UGV platform demonstrates this interoperability and shows how both companies are accelerating the deployment of urgently needed capabilities to the front lines," said Anton Skrypnyk, CEO of ROBONEERS. GEREON is ARX Robotics' medium-sized unmanned ground vehicle, and the company says its fleet in Ukraine is the largest Western-built UGV fleet deployed there. The vehicles have been in Ukrainian service since early 2025, and ARX has since won a contract for several hundred GEREON units, followed in May 2026 by another order for several hundred more vehicles that expanded its Ukrainian fleet to five times its original size. The modular design lets the same vehicle switch between resupply, casualty evacuation, electronic warfare, reconnaissance, combat and counter-drone roles. ARX also builds GEREONs in Britain after its first British Army contract in April. Roboneers says its systems have been used in more than 15,000 frontline missions since 2014. Its product line includes the Rys Pro ground vehicle alongside the SABER weapon stations. The integration is the first concrete result of a strategic technical partnership the two companies signed on Oct. 4 in Kyiv, during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's state visit to Ukraine and in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That agreement covers joint development and deeper integration of their systems. It builds on an industrial tie-up from June, when ARX and Roboneers formed ARX Industries, a joint venture to mass-produce the Rys Pro UGV at sites in Germany and Ukraine, with a target of four-digit production numbers in its first year. The companies have already delivered 30 ground vehicles to a single Ukrainian regiment, which uses them for logistics, casualty evacuation and ammunition resupply at the same time. Most of the unmanned ground vehicles Ukraine has fielded so far carry cargo or wounded soldiers. Armed versions remain a smaller share, and the GEREON-SABER combination would give Ukrainian units a heavy machine gun or grenade launcher on a vehicle they already operate in large numbers. The companies said integration of the M2 and MK 19 configurations is due to be completed by the end of 2026.