Italy’s Iveco IDV Unveils VIKING 6x6 Hybrid UGV for Low-Signature Battlefield Resupply.

Iveco Defence Vehicles showcased its VIKING 6x6 hybrid uncrewed ground vehicle at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, highlighting a 750 kg payload and low-signature electric mobility. The platform signals a growing push toward robotic last-mile resupply solutions designed to protect soldiers in drone-saturated battlefields.

At the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Army Recognition examined Iveco Defence Vehicles’ VIKING 6x6 uncrewed ground vehicle presented in an operational cargo configuration, emphasizing its readiness for practical field use rather than concept demonstration. IDV positioned the platform as a hybrid diesel-electric logistics and mission carrier intended to move supplies and modular payloads while reducing acoustic and thermal signatures, attributes that are gaining importance as forces adapt to persistent aerial surveillance and drone-enabled targeting. First reported by ADS Advance on September 9, 2025, Viking’s appearance in Saudi Arabia reflects IDV’s push to expand the program beyond European trial ecosystems and into expeditionary markets seeking a credible, near-term solution for last-mile resupply and support tasks.
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IDV's VIKING 6x6 hybrid uncrewed ground vehicle, shown at World Defense Show in Riyadh, observed by Army Recognition, combines a 750 kg payload capacity with 6x6 off-road mobility, low-signature electric "last-mile" drive, and modular autonomy for resupply, CASEVAC, and sensor or mission-payload carriage in contested environments (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

What stood out on the IDV stand was the platform’s compact, low-profile silhouette paired with a genuinely usable deck. The data card photographed by Army Recognition lists a 3,000 mm overall length, 1,800 mm width, and a 900 mm height to the load bed, with a payload space of 2,200 x 1,800 mm. Kerb weight is given as 1,300 kg and payload capacity as 750 kg, aligning with the wider technical reporting that places Viking at roughly a 2-ton gross vehicle weight class intended to live with dismounted formations rather than behind them.

Mobility is engineered around the kind of terrain that breaks small robots in real operations: soft sand, broken rock, wadis, and the churned mud of armored training areas. The Saudi-displayed spec sheet cites 300 mm ground clearance, 350 mm step capability, 600 mm wading depth, all-wheel independent suspension, and a 60 percent slope rating, backed by 6x6 drive with lockable differentials. Steering is a quiet but important design choice, with both 2-wheel and 4-wheel steering listed and a minimum 7 m turning circle, helping the vehicle maneuver inside alley-width gaps and around tree lines where tracked robots often resort to scrub turns that punish tires or tracks and broadcast noise.

The core operational advantage is energy management and signature management delivered by the hybrid architecture. Viking is described as a diesel-electric hybrid UGV designed to move at up to 45 kph, with electric-only mobility in the 20 to 30 km range depending on configuration, and around 250 km endurance in hybrid mode for extended resupply runs. In practical terms, that gives commanders a choice: push quietly on batteries for the last tactical kilometer under drone and thermal observation, then switch to hybrid for the longer approach and withdrawal. The vehicle can also provide offboard power, a detail that matters in 2026 because platoons are increasingly tethered to batteries for radios, sensors, jammers, and small drones.

Autonomy is where Viking tries to separate itself from the growing pack of remotely controlled carts. Reporting around IDV’s autonomy stack points to a modular architecture tied to an AI-enabled navigation approach intended to keep the vehicle moving even when GNSS is jammed or spoofed, a condition now assumed in any peer fight. The front-mounted sensor cluster seen at WDS matches that ambition: it is arranged like a forward perception mast with camera and active sensing apertures optimized for route detection at speed. Crucially, the program logic is not limited to one mission set. Viking is pitched for logistics resupply and casualty evacuation, but also for ISTAR and CBRN survey work, and remote weapon-station combat roles among its targeted payloads, suggesting the platform is being positioned as a chassis for multiple robot teammates rather than a single-purpose mule.

The project’s lineage helps explain the maturity. Viking began under HORIBA MIRA’s unmanned ground vehicle work and was advanced through UK Ministry of Defence experimentation, including DASA and Dstl activity that led to a reported £2.3 million order delivered in early 2021 for continued trials. IDV moved to industrialize that pipeline when it acquired the majority of HORIBA MIRA’s UGV division in 2023, explicitly framing Viking as a mainstay of UK autonomy evaluation. In parallel, Viking has been exercised in coalition experimentation, including AUKUS TORVICE in Australia, which tested autonomous vehicles in contested conditions and included UK Viking UGVs among the trialled platforms. Armies around the world increasingly want first enemy contact to be with a robot rather than a soldier, IDV-R managing director Dr. Geoff Davis noted in earlier program discussions, a blunt rationale that matches current battlefield lessons.

On users, Viking is best described as moving from evaluation to structured procurement in several countries. The UK remains central through Dstl and British Army experimentation, while Sweden’s FMV has acquired Viking for its Autonomous Multifunctional Ground Vehicle Demonstrator program, indicating a funded pathway to doctrine and requirements definition rather than a one-off demo. Units have also been supplied to the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, and Italian forces have publicly showcased Viking in winter conditions during NATO-linked activity, signaling interest in cold-weather autonomy as well as desert mobility. For a prospective customer, the most immediate use case is straightforward: assign Viking to company trains and platoon logistics teams to run repetitive, high-risk last 3 km resupply, then expand into CASEVAC, route reconnaissance, and CBRN survey as autonomy confidence grows and payload kits mature.

In the competitive set, Viking sits in a crowded but fast-sorting category. Milrem Robotics’ tracked THeMIS offers a higher maximum payload ceiling and a deep catalogue of variants, including armed configurations, but it is slower and trades wheeled speed for tracked mobility. Rheinmetall’s Mission Master family emphasizes modularity and has well-developed armed and sensor variants, with commonly cited payload classes around 600 kg in some configurations, but Viking’s hybrid range and 6x6 speed profile make it attractive for longer-distance resupply where time and signature both matter. U.S.-linked squad carriers like General Dynamics’ MUTT target infantry load reduction with comparable payload brackets, yet Viking’s emphasis on higher-voltage hybrid power and GNSS-denied navigation is aimed squarely at the European and NATO test ecosystem now driving autonomy standards.

Seen in Riyadh, Viking is being pitched as a practical, low-profile, hybrid logistics and mission platform that can take the first hit of risk, whether that risk comes from mines on a convoy route, drones hunting heat signatures, or the simple exhaustion of troops carrying too much kit. For Gulf armies watching the proliferation of loitering munitions and sensor-shooter chains, the tactical message is clear: moving supplies and sensors without exposing soldiers is no longer a niche capability; it is becoming a baseline requirement.