European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) – Robotics for security-relevant operations
Robotic systems can keep task forces out of dangerous areas, as well as provide relief for them, and at the same time open up potential new applications. In order for new technologies from research and development to be put into practice, they must be able to be tested under realistic conditions. This is exactly where ELROB, comes in and tests military robotics in a performance comparison during realistic scenarios. As the host of this four-day event, armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T) brings together research, industry and users at the military training area in Thun in June 2026: Twenty international teams will compete in the main disciplines of non-urban recon, mule, and search and rescue (SAR).
Leandra Kolb, Staff, armasuisse Science and Technology
The security situation has intensified and illustrates how dynamic and volatile the environment has become. In parallel, a very rapid development and military anticipation of technologies is taking place. In this context, it is clear that unmanned systems and their automation are becoming increasingly significant. Particularly in urban and asymmetric deployment scenarios, unmanned systems can reduce risks for task forces, build on existing capabilities and open up new operational possibilities.
This is where armasuisse S+T’s research gets involved. Researchers develop innovative technological solutions and test various systems under realistic conditions. The goal is to identify new technologies early on, evaluate them from a scientific perspective and make them usable for security-relevant applications.
In this context, the Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre of the DDPS (SDRC DDPS) is implementing the research programme “Unmanned systems/robotics” as part of the policy research of armasuisse S+T. The focus is on developing promising civil robotic solutions from research and innovation more rapidly and putting them into security-related practice. Robots should support task forces on land, in the air and on water and help them to perform their missions safely and efficiently.
A key element for this is practical testing. armasuisse S+T organises and supports events and activities at which research, industry and users come together. This year, the events ELROB and Advanced Robotic Capabilities for Hazardous Environments (ARCHE) in particular are taking centre stage.
ELROB – European Land Robot Trial
ELROB will take place from 15-19 June 2026 at the military training area in Thun and will be organised by armasuisse S+T in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and RUAG AG. The event is internationally oriented and will focus on unmanned land vehicles. Since 2006, ELROB has been providing realistic robotic scenarios which reflect the current requirements of end users. ELROB is the most established event of this type in Europe. Participating teams have the opportunity of testing their systems in real-world scenarios and are then assessed by a jury based on their performance. At the same time, users will have the opportunity to observe the technologies in realistic and currently required operations. ELROB aims to promote the development of unmanned land vehicles for military use. Since then, ELROB has been bringing research, industry and users from the defence and security areas together, thus creating a european platform for exchange, testing and development of robotics.
What makes ELROB special is that it is not a competition but rather a trial or a suitability test. The goal is to show what European and international robotics is currently capable of doing.
ELROB offers companies and higher education institutions the opportunity to demonstrate their systems and have them evaluated in operational scenarios. Particular focus is on systems that can be implemented quickly and are suitable for military use. ELROB is enabling the valuable exchange of expertise and experience as an interface between representatives of the Armed Forces, industry and research. At the same time, ELROB offers the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the current state of the art of robotic technologies. armasuisse S+T is thus strengthening security-relevant robotic research, together with industry, higher education institutions and international partners.