DSEI 2025: Banshee unmanned system supports combat operations while reducing human risk.

At DSEI 2025, the Australian company DefendTex presented the Banshee, a land autonomous munitions platform that reflects the growing emphasis on unmanned ground vehicles within modern defense strategies. Designed to operate in Anti-Access and Area Denial missions, the Banshee provides operators with the ability to remotely control several units from beyond enemy threat range, a feature that underscores the increasing importance of stand-off capabilities in contested environments. Its presentation at the exhibition highlighted the continuing evolution of modular and expendable unmanned platforms as central tools in both defensive and offensive operations.
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The modularity of the Banshee is one of its key strengths: it can be fitted with D40 launch tubes, anti-tank mines, or other systems. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The Banshee is conceived as a high-performance and highly mobile unmanned ground vehicle. Its design is built around a universal T-slot mounting system coupled with a standardized electrical interface. This approach allows rapid customization for a range of mission-specific payloads. The modularity of the Banshee is one of its key strengths: it can be fitted with D40 launch tubes, anti-tank mines, or other systems that expand its utility on the battlefield. Such adaptability ensures that the same platform can serve in different roles depending on operational needs, from direct engagement to support and denial operations. The platform also integrates passive target recognition and tracking, enhancing maneuverability and precision in dynamic combat conditions.

The specifications emphasize its compact yet powerful design. The vehicle is one meter long, 650 millimeters wide, and 300 millimeters high, with an unladen weight under 40 kilograms. Despite its small frame, the Banshee supports a payload capacity of 50 kilograms. Its ground clearance of 150 millimeters, combined with an independent four-wheel drive system and independent wishbone suspension, allows it to handle diverse terrain with agility. Performance metrics place it among the more capable small unmanned vehicles, with a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour and a maximum range of 30 kilometers. Its ability to manage slopes of up to 60 percent reinforces its suitability for rugged operational theaters where flexibility of movement is critical.

A distinctive feature of the Banshee is its interoperability through DefendTex’s Distributed Digital Architecture. This architecture enables swarming capabilities, allowing multiple platforms to operate in coordination. In practical terms, this means several Banshee units can be deployed simultaneously to overwhelm defenses, conduct distributed reconnaissance, or deliver munitions collectively. The swarming function represents a tactical shift in land warfare, where the employment of coordinated unmanned systems can provide saturation effects that would otherwise require significant manpower and conventional assets. The Banshee’s compatibility with aerial platforms, such as small drones equipped with D40s, further broadens its role, supporting combined operations across multiple domains.

Another aspect of the design is its focus on flexibility in payload integration. The T-slot system does not limit the vehicle to explosive munitions. It can carry sensors, communication relays, or electronic warfare payloads, making it a multipurpose tool in complex environments. This modularity extends its relevance beyond traditional combat tasks. For instance, Banshee units could be deployed for route clearance, surveillance, or as decoys to distract enemy defenses. Such versatility ensures that the platform is not confined to a single mission set, which is particularly valuable in expeditionary contexts where logistics and transport capacity limit the range of assets that can be deployed.

The Banshee is developed and produced in Australia, where DefendTex has been promoting its use within national defense initiatives while also seeking export opportunities. In real operational terms, such a system would be deployed at the tactical edge, complementing manned forces by taking on high-risk missions such as laying mines in contested terrain, conducting reconnaissance in areas under enemy observation, or delivering munitions directly against armored formations. Its speed and small profile make it difficult to counter, particularly when used in numbers, and its modularity ensures that the same fleet can be reconfigured quickly depending on the mission. For armed forces, this reduces the need to field large inventories of specialized vehicles, as a single adaptable platform can fulfill multiple roles. The wider adoption of systems like the Banshee would mark a shift in how land forces think about unmanned integration, emphasizing expendability, swarm tactics, and distributed lethality as central components of modern warfare.

Written by Matt Delvoye - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition

Matt Delvoye holds degrees in political science from the University of Liège and the University of Brussels, with a specialization in international relations as well as defense and security policy. He works as a defense analyst at Army Recognition, where he covers international defense events and provides daily reporting on military equipment and industry developments.