During U.S. Africa Command’s Largest Annual Exercise, Overland AI Demonstrates Combat Capabilities with Autonomous Ground Vehicles

ULTRA platforms execute complex breach, terrain shaping, and fire support missions in Morocco's Sahara Desert

CAP DRAA, Morocco, May 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Overland AI, the leader in ground-based autonomous capabilities, demonstrated advanced autonomous combat operations during African Lion 2026, U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise, deploying two ULTRA autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) that executed coordinated breaching, fire support, and defensive lane missions alongside U.S. Army forces at the Cap Draa Training Area in Morocco’s Sahara Desert.

Two ULTRA AGVs maneuvering for direct fire support (CROWS) and breaching (APOBS and munitions droppers) missions. 

Overland AI’s team trained Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade and 7th Engineer Brigade, as well as Marines from 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, on ULTRA operations. Soldiers tasked the two AGVs to execute defensive and counter-attack scenarios in realistic combat operations. The exercise from April 20 through May 8 showcased ULTRA’s ability to perform complex combined-arms missions in austere desert conditions and attracted significant attention from senior military leadership and international partners. Senior leaders from USAEUR-AF and AFRICOM observed live operations.

ULTRA autonomously maneuvers past forward line of troops to overwatch position.

“What better place to showcase our ULTRA AGV as the platform for ground combat than on the international stage at African Lion,” said Byron Boots, co-founder and chief executive officer of Overland AI. “This premier exercise alongside Soldiers reinforces the inevitable reality that battlefield functions will become software-defined, including breaching and fire support missions, and that Overland AI is delivering for that future today.”

The AGVs participated in two primary mission sets. In the counter-attack lane, one ULTRA equipped with a CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station) remote weapon system provided cover fire while a second ULTRA, integrated with an APOBS (Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System), cleared a concertina wire obstacle alongside dismounted Soldiers. In the defense lane, a single ULTRA emplaced XM204 terrain shaping munitions, creating a defensive obstacle belt. Both vehicles navigated dense obstacle fields, including berms, tank walls, anti-vehicle ditches, and minefields.

ULTRA firing APOBS at breach line while a second AGV provides direct fire support.

Soldier operators reported OverWatch, Overland AI’s intuitive command and control interface, was the easiest to learn among robotic platforms they had trained on, with personnel achieving independent mission planning and multi-AGV tasking capability within hours.

Ultimately, the African Lion exercise demonstrated Overland AI and ULTRA’s ability to deploy rapidly to austere international locations. The vehicles and equipment became operational within 24 hours of arrival from the United States into the Sahara Desert training area, yet another delivery of mission-ready capability for service members today.

About Overland AI
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Overland AI builds autonomous land systems to defend the United States and its allies. The company's OverDrive autonomy software stack is purpose-built for off-road and austere environments, enabling ground vehicles to operate autonomously where commercial autonomy systems are not designed to go. Overland AI products span the full stack across autonomy software, the sensors and control systems that enable perception and maneuver, and in-house manufacturing to deliver autonomous assets rapidly and at scale.

Learn more at www.overland.ai

Media Contact
press@overland.ai

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ULTRA Autonomous Maneuver

ULTRA autonomously maneuvers past forward line of troops to overwatch position.

ULTRA Firing APOBS

ULTRA firing APOBS at breach line while a second AGV provides direct fire support.

ULTRA AGVs Maneuvering

Two ULTRA AGVs maneuvering for direct fire support (CROWS) and breaching (APOBSand munitions droppers) missions.

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