American-Made Humanoid ‘Phantom’ Robots Sent to Ukraine for Battlefield Testing

Ukraine is increasingly serving as a testing ground for emerging military technologies, with defense startups from around the world evaluating new systems in live combat conditions during the war with Russia.

A San Francisco-based robotics startup, Foundation, has sent two of its humanoid combat robots to Ukraine, potentially marking one of the earliest battlefield trials of such machines designed specifically for warfare.

The robot, called the Phantom MK-1, arrived in Ukraine in February for field evaluation to assess how it performs in real combat environments, according to a report by TIME magazine on March 10^th.

Per the previous reports, the robots are 5 feet 9 inches tall, weigh roughly 175 pounds, and can carry payloads of up to 44 pounds. Per TIME Magazine’s reporting, the robots are capable of being equipped with various firearms, including revolvers, pistols, and shotguns, and could potentially be fitted with an M-16 rifle.

Foundation’s decision to develop weaponized humanoid robots diverges from the stance taken by many large robotics companies, which have publicly pledged not to militarize their technologies. The deployment of Phantom units to Ukraine represents one of the first practical battlefield evaluations of humanoid soldier concepts.

In an interview with TIME magazine, Foundation co-founder Mike LeBlanc, who is a 14-year Marine Corps veteran with multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, said that bringing the Phantom system to Ukraine strengthened his belief that humanoid robots could play a major role in future warfare.

“Humanoid soldiers can be invaluable for resupply and reconnaissance work, especially in places drones can’t access, like bunkers,” LeBlanc explained.

Apparently, the humanoid robot generates a thermal signature similar to that of a human, which could also complicate detection by enemy surveillance systems.

LeBlanc argues that deploying machines in combat could reduce risks to soldiers, thereby making it a moral imperative. Foundation ultimately aims to design robots capable of using the same weapons and interacting with the same equipment currently operated by human troops, he said.

“How many .50-caliber guns do we have? How many grenade launchers? How many Humvees? We need something that can interact with all of these,” LeBlanc said.

The company is preparing its Phantom systems for possible use by the U.S. military, which has been exploring militarized humanoid prototypes that could operate alongside human troops in high-risk operational environments.

Foundation is already an approved vendor for the U.S. military and holds research contracts worth about $24 million with the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, suggesting that such systems may soon undergo broader operational testing.

According to TIME Magazine’s reporting, the Phantom MK-1 is also expected to train with the U.S. Marine Corps in “methods of entry” operations, which entail procedures used to breach buildings, structures, or ships through techniques that can involve explosives, ballistic tools, thermal cutting, or mechanical force.

The MK1 robots, due to partake in this course, could be tasked with placing explosives on doors to help troops carry out safer breaching operations.

LeBlanc also told TIME that Foundation has been in close discussions with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding possible patrol roles for the robots along the country’s southern border.

Foundation plans to manufacture as many as 10,000 Phantom units by 2026, according to the company’s Chief Executive Sankaet Pathak’s interview with NewsNation in October 2025.

In that interview, Pathak had noted that the robots would not operate fully autonomously. A human operator would remain responsible for the final decision on whether to fire a weapon, maintaining what the company describes as “a human in the loop” for mission-critical decisions.

He described the Phantom MK-1 as designed to be faster, stronger, and more heavily weaponized, with an emphasis on durability to withstand harsh battlefield conditions. The company aims to develop what it calls one of “the most rugged humanoid” platforms capable of operating in combat environments that could exert significant physical stress.

Ukraine: World’s laboratory for high-tech weaponry testing

Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the latter has emerged as a hub of rapid military experimentation and innovation. The conflict has seen the widespread use of drones, the emergence of coordinated drone swarms, and the growing deployment of uncrewed boats and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

Given the success of unmanned ground systems, the introduction of humanoid robots on the battlefield was likely only a matter of time.

There have been reports of UGVs having successfully repelled Russian assaults and even captured enemy troops. In some cases, Ukrainian and Russian robotic systems have reportedly engaged each other without direct human presence on the battlefield.

“Robot wars are already happening,” said Major Oleksandr Afanasiev of the Ukrainian army’s K-2 brigade, in a recent interview with the BBC. He commands the K-2 brigade’s UGV battalion, which is the world’s first, according to him.

One of the configurations of combat robots being used by Ukrainian forces involves mounting Kalashnikov machine guns on robotic platforms.

“They open fire on a battlefield where an infantryman would be afraid to turn up. But a UGV is happy to risk its existence,” Major Afanasiev said.

Foundation co-founder, LeBlanc’s views are quite in line with Major Afanasiev’s description of the Ukrainian battlefield environment as having taken the shape of a robot war.

“It’s a complete robot war, where the robot is the primary fighter and the humans are in support,” LeBlanc told TIME magazine. “It is the exact opposite of when I was in Afghanistan: the humans were everything, and we had supplementary tools.”

For technology companies like Foundation, Ukraine offers a rare opportunity to refine new systems using direct feedback from frontline combat conditions.

“Just like drones, machine guns, or any technology, you first have to get them into the hands of customers,” said Foundation CEO Pathak.

Tanmay Kadam is a geopolitical observer based in India. He has experience working as a Defense and International Affairs journalist for EurAsian Times. He can be contacted at tanmaykadam700@gmail.com.