U.S. Army to field autonomous Ford F-250 pickups for hazardous missions

The U.S. Army plans to evaluate four autonomous Ford F-250 pickups during a training exercise, testing Forterra’s self-driving technology for duties such as route clearance and breaching that currently expose troops to mines and explosives. Forterra highlights the advantage of using a widely available commercial vehicle, noting that its abundant parts supply could reduce the Pentagon’s historically complex logistics chains.

The autonomous system is also being integrated into the Marine Corps’ NMESIS anti-ship missile platform built on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle chassis. Forterra has delivered over a hundred smaller ruggedized units to Ukraine, equipped with Starlink antennas and capable of hauling nearly 1,700 pounds, where they have been used for logistics and casualty evacuation. Ukrainian experience shows that remote-controlled vehicles can strain bandwidth and emit detectable electronic signatures, prompting a shift toward brief, low-bandwidth commands or pre-programmed routes. The Pentagon views such unmanned ground vehicles as a way to keep soldiers out of hazardous, time-consuming work while freeing them for other missions, provided the systems prove rugged enough for combat conditions.