iMUGS2
EU-funded programme building a shared control standard for national ground-robot fleets.
iMUGS2 entered its second stage on 11 August 2026 when Shephard Media reported the EU's 29-partner, 15-country ground-robot programme is building toward a three-day interoperability exercise in Norway in 2028, with a third stage already under consideration.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can fifteen national robot fleets share vehicles if they share no control standard?
Timeline for iMUGS2
One control standard for EU war robots
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
iMUGS2 is the second stage of the EU's Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System programme: a shared effort to build a common control standard for national ground-robot fleets.
It runs across 29 partners in 15 EU countries and is coordinated by Estonia's Milrem Robotics, which also builds the THeMIS ground robot the standard is meant to interoperate with.
The programme exists because national robot fleets built without a shared control interface cannot lend each other vehicles across a border in a Coalition operation, a gap that matters for any alliance planning to fight together rather than in national silos, and one a third planned stage would extend further.
iMUGS2 moves toward its 2028 test
iMUGS2, the second stage of the EU's Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System programme, launched in November 2025 with 29 partners across 15 countries, coordinated by Estonia's Milrem Robotics. Shephard Media reported on 11 August 2026 that the programme is building toward a shared control standard so ground robots built by different national suppliers can work together across a coalition.
The standard will not be tested until a three-day exercise in Norway in 2028, and a third programme stage is already under consideration before this one finishes. Fifteen national fleets built without a common interface cannot currently lend each other a vehicle across a border, which is the gap the exercise is meant to close.