---
title: "UGVs Cannot Replace \"Armor\": Interview with Ukr Armo Tech CEO"
description: "Ukr Armo Tech CEO Gennadiy Khirhiy discussed front-line armored vehicle shortages and explained why UGVs cannot replace armored cars."
date: 2026-09-30T09:02:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/news-21044-en
tags: [ukr-armo-tech, armored-vehicles, mrap, defense-industry]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# UGVs Cannot Replace "Armor": Interview with Ukr Armo Tech CEO

![Armored vehicle produced by Ukrainian company Ukr Armo Tech](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/30/news-21044/news-21044-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The frontline faces a deficit of armor ranging from medevacs to tracked IFVs.
- Ground drones (UGVs) cannot fully replace protected military transport.
- The company produces vehicles including GYURZA, TISA, and the UAT-SPIDER excavator.

The Ukrainian frontline is currently facing a significant shortage of armored vehicles of various types, ranging from specialized medevac vehicles to heavy tracked infantry fighting vehicles. Amid intense combat operations, priorities have shifted: equipment with high mine protection, integrated electronic warfare systems, and quality optics has become critically important.

### Modern Battlefield Realities and New Developments

Gennadiy Khirhiy, CEO of Ukr Armo Tech, emphasized in a recent interview that Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), despite all their technological advancements, cannot completely replace traditional armored vehicles. The battlefield has become extremely transparent due to the mass use of reconnaissance drones and strike FPV drones, requiring a balanced fleet of vehicles.

### Equipment Lineup and Engineering Solutions

Responding to frontline demands, the company has developed a number of specialized platforms. These include the GYURZA armored vehicle family, TISA light tactical vehicles, the DESNA multi-purpose platform, the FOX armored pickup, and the unique UAT-SPIDER armored excavator. Additionally, engineers created a prototype of the "Skif" light tracked vehicle.

### Contradictory Data

While Ukrainian manufacturers and specialized media report active development and codification of new armored vehicle models for the defense forces, Russian state sources periodically claim strikes on the production facilities of Ukraine's defense industry enterprises, including Ukr Armo Tech. Official confirmations or detailed comments regarding the scale of potential consequences of such claims from the Ukrainian manufacturer are absent in open sources, creating an informational gap.

Despite wartime challenges, the company's strategy relies on constant feedback from the military on the front lines, allowing engineers to adapt vehicle designs to real combat conditions and maximize personnel survival chances.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [НРК не способны заменить "броню": интервью с генеральным директором "Укр Армо Тех"](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/nrk-zdatni-zaminiti-bronyu-interv-yu-generalnim-1790753465.html) - Основной источник интервью с Геннадием Хиргием о потребностях фронта и продукции компании.
- [10 оснований открыть оборонный экспорт, – директор УКР АРМО ТЕХ Геннадий Хиргий](https://ukranews.com/news/1087197-10-pidstav-vidkriti-oboronnij-eksport-direktor-ukr-armo-teh-gennadij-hirgij) - Контекстные данные о деятельности компании и ее руководстве.
- [ВС РФ ударили по производящему для ВСУ бронемашины предприятию "Укр армо тех"](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/27888959) - Заявления российских источников о поражении предприятия при отсутствии подтверждений со стороны производителя.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why can't UGVs replace armored vehicles?
**A:** The modern battlefield requires comprehensive protection, high mobility, and the ability to transport personnel and evacuate wounded under fire, which robots cannot do universally yet.

### Q: What main vehicles does Ukr Armo Tech produce?
**A:** The company produces the GYURZA family, TISA tactical vehicles, the DESNA platform, the FOX pickup, and the UAT-SPIDER excavator.