Ratel Robotics

Ratel Robotics is a Ukrainian maker of unmanned ground vehicles, founded by Taras Ostapchuk, a Kyiv Polytechnic graduate and serving Armed Forces officer. The company grew out of a pre-war street-lighting business that pivoted to military robotics at the end of 2022; its first robot was in serial production by mid-2023. It is now one of Ukraine’s larger land-drone manufacturers, reported in 2026 to employ around 400 people and to build on the order of several thousand vehicles a year.

Its best-known platform is the Ratel S, a small tracked robot nicknamed the “Honey Badger” that can drive explosives up to an enemy position as a ground kamikaze or deliver anti-tank mines. It was used in widely publicised operations, including the destruction of a Russian-held bridge and Ukraine’s first assault carried out solely with ground robots and FPV drones. The company has since built out a wider family: the Ratel H, a logistics and evacuation platform carrying 400 kilograms or more and towing around 1,500; the Ratel Deminer, a remote mine-clearing machine; and the Nurse TB, a tracked logistics and remote-mining vehicle with a follow-me tracking system that is set to replace the ageing Ratel S.

Ratel’s development was backed by Ukraine’s state defence-tech cluster, Brave1 , and several of its platforms have been codified by the Ministry of Defence and procured for front-line units. The company has been named to Forbes’ “Next 250” list and has shown its hardware at international exhibitions including IDEF in Istanbul. Its growth has been driven largely by state procurement rather than disclosed outside investment.