US company Swarmer, Inc., which develops autonomous drone-control platforms, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ukrainian ground robotic systems manufacturer Ratel Robotics. Swarmer itself reported this.
According to the company’s statement, the value of the deal could reach $224 million, taking into account the staged payments are provided by the agreement. Once the deal is completed, more than 300 Ratel Robotics employees are expected to join Swarmer. This would bring the combined company’s headcount to around 500.
Ratel Robotics founder and CEO Taras Ostapchuk will remain in his role and will report to Swarmer’s President and CEO in the United States, Alex Fink. After the acquisition closes, Swarmer plans to expand its presence in Ukraine and use Ratel’s developments to advance ground and aerial unmanned systems.
Swarmer says the merger should make it possible to combine Ratel’s ground robotic комплекси with Swarmer’s autonomous-control software. Under the companies’ plan, the ground robotic systems could be used not only for logistics and evacuation tasks, but also as universal platforms for launching drones, including interceptors.
“In my recent letter to shareholders, I stated our goal — to build a platform for products that have been tested on the battlefield and proven effective in the most challenging operational conditions. Ratel fits that mission exactly. I believe Swarmer can accelerate its capabilities, expand its reach, and integrate them with other proven technologies. Our goal is simple: to bring the best battle-tested systems together into one decisive, integrated solution,” said Swarmer Chairman Erik Prince.
Ratel Robotics is a Ukrainian manufacturer of ground robotic systems that has been developing drones since 2023. The company’s robotic platforms are used for battlefield logistics, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, drone launching and demining. In 2026, the company signed contracts totalling $86 million. It is also in talks with several NATO countries as part of the Build With Ukraine initiative.
Swarmer is a US defence company specialising in software that enables a single operator to control hundreds of drones in real time. Swarmer’s core areas include autonomous coordination of drone swarms, integration of multi-domain unmanned systems, and AI-based autonomy software for distributed operations. The company also says that since April 2024, Swarmer has supported more than 100,000 real combat missions in Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence noted that demand for ground robotic systems is steadily increasing. To significantly expand their use along the front line, the defence ministry has substantially increased procurement volumes and set the required level of demand for ground robotic systems this year.
In particular, more than 22,000 units of ground robotic systems have already been contracted, almost double the figure for the entire previous year. Servicemen have also already ordered ground robotic systems worth nearly UAH 1.9 billion via the Brave1 Market marketplace under the eBaly programme.