by Maj. Gen. Saar Tzur
If the skies have become dangerous, the ground battlefield has become a truly lethal trap. So instead of adding more and more soldiers or additional manned combat platforms, we add robots.
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Over the past two decades, the concept of the Loyal Wingman has been perceived almost exclusively as part of the aerial domain. Manned combat aircraft, accompanied by unmanned aerial vehicles, have become a symbol of modern warfare. The UAV flies alongside the pilot, executes high-risk missions, absorbs fire, collects intelligence, and at times even conducts strikes – all without endangering human life.
This concept did not emerge from technological enthusiasm, but out of genuine operational necessity. Over time, the skies have become increasingly dense and threatening, saturated with air-defense systems, precision missiles, and advanced sensors. The cost of losing an aircraft and its pilot is immense, both in human and strategic terms. The solution was the creation of a loyal, unmanned companion, one willing to assume risks and perform missions that humans would prefer to avoid.
Today, this idea is making its way down to the ground – and not by coincidence. If the skies have become dangerous, the ground battlefield has become a truly lethal trap. Improvised explosive devices, mines, attacking drones, precision anti-tank fire, snipers, dense urban combat, and a dispersed enemy exploiting every corner and contour of the terrain.
Tanks and armored personnel carriers, once symbols of power and survivability, now find themselves increasingly vulnerable. It is precisely here that the concept of the Ground Loyal Wingman emerges – an unmanned ground robotic platform operating alongside a manned vehicle, supporting it, protecting it, and significantly enhancing its combat power.
The sentence that encapsulates this entire concept is simple yet revolutionary: increasing force mass, lethality, and operational effectiveness at low cost. Instead of adding more and more soldiers or additional manned combat platforms, we add robots.
The strategic background: Why now?
To understand why this concept is transitioning from a futuristic idea into an urgent operational necessity, one must examine the strategic shifts taking place in ground warfare.
First and foremost is the human factor – the growing difficulty in recruiting combat soldiers and the continuous erosion of manpower. Modern armies struggle to recruit and retain professional fighters. The loss of soldiers is not only a personal tragedy but also a direct blow to long-term operational capability.
Second, asymmetric threats are intensifying. Adversaries increasingly employ relatively low-cost yet sophisticated means, such as explosives and drones, to target expensive and advanced forces.
Third, the tempo of warfare is accelerating. The battlefield demands a faster decision-making cycle (professionally referred to as the OODA Loop). Human cognitive capacity is inherently limited, while autonomous systems can collect, process, and present information at far higher speeds. Finally, innovation has become a cornerstone of deterrence. A state that demonstrates technological superiority both prevails on the battlefield and sends a powerful psychological message to its adversaries.
Within this context, the Ground Loyal Wingman is not merely another new platform, but a profound conceptual shift – a transition from a purely human combat force to a hybrid human-machine force operating as a single organic system.
The core concept: Human brain, robotic arms
At the heart of the concept lies a clear division of roles. The manned ground vehicle – whether tank, armored personnel carrier, or combat vehicle – serves as the brain and the leader. It defines intent, makes decisions, and leads the force. Alongside it operate one or more Ground Loyal Wingmen – robotic platforms tasked with assuming the dangerous, attritional, or technically complex missions. They extend detection and engagement ranges, enable operational continuity, and function as true force multipliers.
As in the aerial domain, the concept rests on the following three central pillars.
- Shared mission: The manned platform defines the mission and intent, while the robot executes selected components, particularly those that pose the greatest risk to human life.
- Autonomous flexibility: The Wingman must operate across varying levels of autonomy, from full manual control (teleoperation) to autonomous execution of well-defined missions.
- Modularity: The same platform can carry sensors, weapons, logistical payloads, or electronic warfare systems, depending on the operational requirement.
The uniqueness of the ground domain lies in its complexity. Unlike the air domain, the ground environment is filled with obstacles – buildings, stairways, trenches, vegetation, and physical barriers. Therefore, a Ground Wingman must be robust, agile, and equipped with advanced sensors that enable effective maneuvering in dense and complex terrain.
Advantages: Far more than just another robot
The benefits of integrating ground Wingmen are deep and multi-layered, offering a wide range of strategic and tactical advantages.
The supreme objective of ground Wingmen is to reduce the risk to human lives. Autonomous platforms are designed to perform the “dull, dirty, and dangerous” missions. Fewer exposed soldiers, that translates into fewer casualties and ensures sustained operational continuity over time.
These platforms also offer operational force multiplication – a combat team brings greater mass of fire and influence to the battlefield with the same human order of battle, significantly reducing reliance on scarce professional manpower – and creating a substantially stronger unit.
Ground Wingmen can also provide enhanced situational awareness through accompanying platforms carrying multiple sensors positioned optimally across the terrain, generating a richer and more relevant battlefield picture for the entire force.
Tactical flexibility and audacity also increases with such platforms. The ability to conduct multiple missions simultaneously, combined with a greater willingness to accept risk using unmanned platforms, enables commanders to act more boldly in executing their plans. The decision-cycle acceleration (OODA Loop) also increases. This is achieved as commanders receive real-time information from robotic sources, enabling faster and more informed decisions.
The presence of robotic platforms alongside heavy vehicles also conveys technological superiority and strength, while boosting the confidence of soldiers on the ground. In addition to achieving a psychological advantage,the cost-effectiveness is significant. These platforms are cheaper and simpler to produce and maintain than manned vehicles, making their loss in combat a systemically tolerable attrition.
Challenges: The road ahead
Despite its vast potential, realism is essential. The technology is not yet fully mature for complex ground missions. Autonomous systems still struggle with the inherent unpredictability of the battlefield. Communications and control remain a central challenge.
Fast, resilient, real-time connectivity is required to enable seamless transitions between human control and autonomy. Survivability is another challenge. Unmanned platforms are inherently more vulnerable, reinforcing the need for simplicity and low cost to allow acceptable losses.
Cognitive load is also a concern. A single operator controlling multiple platforms may become overwhelmed. However, manned vehicles often include crew members who can dedicate attention to operating robotic assets, significantly mitigating this issue.
Capabilities: A complete operational web
A ground Wingman can perform a wide range of operational roles and capabilities.
First and foremost, it can carry out Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roles, such as route clearance, detection of mines and explosives, and early warning of enemy presence. It can also be responsible for force protection by securing flanks and creating a physical and intelligence buffer between the enemy and the manned platform, including static and prolonged protection of the manned vehicle itself. Or it can take part in electronic and spectral warfare by signal collection, detection of hostile transmitters, and counter-drone operations.
Such platforms can also provide direct support by carrying light or medium weaponry, marking targets, or operating sensing and deception systems. The deception would draw enemy fire to improve the survivability of the manned platform. Ground Wingmen can also provide logistical support (resupply and CASEVAC) by delivering ammunition or evacuating casualties while minimizing risk to troops.
The concept also includes size differentiation. Small and compact platforms capable of entering alleys and climbing stairs, medium platforms offering greater protection and capability, and heavy platforms that may serve as partial alternatives to tanks and armored personnel carriers.
How the battlefield changes
The introduction of the Ground Loyal Wingman is expected to reshape force structure. Instead of units organized around a single vehicle, we will see paired formations – a manned vehicle accompanied by one or two robotic platforms.
These robots will create a new layer of tactical depth, serving as forward reconnaissance and sensing elements that allow the manned force to operate with relative security. In urban combat, small robots will enter alleys and buildings ahead of soldiers.
Deterrence will evolve as adversaries confront integrated human-machine forces. All of this will integrate with aerial drones and unified command-and-control systems to create a truly multi-domain force.
Conclusion: The future of warfare is already here
The Loyal Wingman concept, born in the skies of aerial combat, is now landing on the ground. It carries the same underlying logic – increasing force and capability while protecting the human element – yet it must address the unique challenges of the ground domain. Particularly in urban environments, the potential is immense. The army of the future will not advance with steel and fire alone, but with a robotic spearhead integrated into the human fist. This represents a genuine paradigm shift, one that promises fewer exposed soldiers, more simultaneous missions, and faster, smarter, and safer warfare.
This is the next step in the evolution of the ground battlefield – a step that those who adopt it
Maj. Gen. Saar Tzur, a major-general (res.) served for 34 years as an IDF commander.
His last position was Commander of the Northern Corps where he led the
Multi-Domain Maneuver Array, shaping the IDF Ground Forces for the next
decade through advanced strategy and technology. Today, he is CEO at an
international defense consultancy and a partner at a venture capital
fund specializing in defense-tech
Source: https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-885162
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