Milrem Robotics and VDL Defentec have opened a THeMIS production line in Born, the Netherlands – with the first Dutch-made vehicles already handed to Ukraine and 100+ units on order.
Estonia continues to be a model European partner in DefenceTech and support Ukraine. Hardware startup Milrem Robotics and Dutch manufacturer VDL Defentec have opened a THeMIS uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) production line in Born, the Netherlands, with the first vehicles off the new line handed over to the Dutch government for delivery to Ukraine during the opening ceremony on June 3rd.
The line was established to support a Netherlands-funded order of more than 100 THeMIS platforms for Ukraine, coordinated through Milrem’s Dutch subsidiary alongside VDL Defentec. Designed for flexibility, the Born facility can scale output rapidly – a capability both companies say reflects a broader shift in European defence manufacturing. Previously, Milrem has established cooperation with Poland’s PGZ, and 3 British defence giants among many others.
What this means for Milrem and DefenceTech
Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics, said the handover “demonstrates that Europe’s defence industry is capable of rapidly increasing production capacity and delivering meaningful capabilities to Ukraine,” adding that VDL’s “solid industrial scaling capabilities” made the partnership a natural fit for serving the European market.
Willem van der Leegte, CEO of VDL Groep, echoed the point: “European companies can jointly establish new manufacturing capabilities at speed and support international security efforts.”
The new units will join the initial 15 THeMIS UGVs already deployed in Ukraine. Photo: Milrem Robotics
The new vehicles will join THeMIS platforms already operating in Ukraine since 2022. A multi-role system designed to support infantry in logistics, reconnaissance and combat tasks, THeMIS is currently in service or part of robotics programmes in 20 countries – making it the most widely deployed UGV in its class.
Beyond Ukraine, the Born facility is intended to anchor longer-term industrial cooperation between the two companies and contribute to European defence capacity more broadly.
Headquartered in Estonia, Milrem Robotics operates across seven countries and is also developing the HAVOC robotic combat vehicle, the VECTOR UGV, and the ARCOS command-and-control system. The company previously led the EU-funded iMUGS programme under the EDIDP framework; a follow-on project, iMUGS2, is currently in preparation.
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