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U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division Bradley Spotted Carrying Swarmbotics AI FireAnt UGVs During Pegasus Charge Exercise

U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division Bradley Spotted Carrying Swarmbotics AI FireAnt UGVs During Pegasus Charge Exercise

Fort Hood, Texas — A U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division M2A4 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle has been seen carrying five FireAnt unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) developed by Arizona-based Swarmbotics AI during the division’s Pegasus Charge activities.

A video shared by Swarmbotics AI on LinkedIn shows the five robots mounted on the Bradley’s side storage racks. The company said the systems were involved in “ground swarms making movement to contact” during Pegasus Charge 3 with the 1st Cavalry Division.

 

 

FireAnt is part of Swarmbotics AI’s ANTS (Attritable Networked Tactical Swarm) family. The company describes it as a man-portable, attritable UGV weighing about 27 kg, designed for AI-enabled swarm operations. Its modular payload architecture supports missions including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare (EW), communications relay, counter-unmanned aircraft systems and anti-armor operations.

Swarmbotics AI says FireAnt can use different payloads, including configurations for anti-armor effects, while its swarm system allows multiple robots to coordinate through a decentralized mesh network. The company has described control of groups of six to eight FireAnts by a single operator, with the robots sharing information and coordinating tasks.

The FireAnt has already been evaluated by the U.S. Army. Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division assessed autonomous ground systems during xTechOverwatch in October 2025. In February 2026, the Army selected Swarmbotics AI to continue development of swarming, attritable small UGVs with the 1st Cavalry Division as part of its Transforming in Contact effort.

FireAnt was also tested during Project Golden Shield at Fort Hood, Texas, in April 2026. The 1st Cavalry Division used the exercise to evaluate counter-drone technologies, with a FireAnt V4 autonomous ground vehicle among the systems tested.

Pegasus Charge is the 1st Cavalry Division’s approach to the Army’s Transforming in Contact initiative. It focuses not only on new equipment but also on changes to how the division organizes, trains and operates, including the integration of emerging unmanned and autonomous systems.

The FireAnt remains under development and testing. Its appearance on a Bradley during Pegasus Charge 3 shows the Army is continuing to examine how small autonomous ground robots can be transported and employed directly with armored formations.

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About the Author

Aditya Kumar is a Defense & Geopolitics Analyst covering military developments, missile systems, naval strategy, and global defense affairs.