Rheinmetall and Croatia’s DOK-ING establish strategic partnership on unmanned ground systems

German defense group Rheinmetall and Croatian unmanned systems manufacturer DOK-ING have announced a strategic partnership focused on the development and production of unmanned ground systems (UGS) for military applications.

The cooperation is intended to combine Rheinmetall’s experience in defense systems integration with DOK-ING’s established portfolio of robotic and autonomous platforms. According to the companies, the partnership will focus on expanding capabilities in remote and autonomous ground vehicles designed for military operations.

DOK-ING has developed a range of robotic systems primarily used for demining, firefighting, and hazardous environment operations. In recent years, the Croatian company has also been advancing military variants of its unmanned platforms for tasks such as reconnaissance, logistics, and combat support.

Rheinmetall indicated that the partnership forms part of its broader strategy to expand capabilities in autonomous and robotic land systems. The German group has been increasing investment in unmanned technologies as European armed forces accelerate modernization efforts and seek to integrate autonomous systems into future land operations.

Through the cooperation, the two companies plan to jointly explore development and production opportunities for new unmanned ground systems, including platforms designed to support military engineering tasks, combat support roles, and other specialized missions.

The partnership also reflects growing industrial collaboration between Western European defense primes and specialized robotics companies in Central and South-Eastern Europe, particularly in areas such as autonomy, unmanned systems, and advanced land platforms.