China's Robot Wolves Are Armed

From Air War to Land Battle

Last issue, I showed you how drones are changing warfare in the skies.

Computer vision is learning to recognize the world below.

But a flying drone can't easily drag a wounded soldier to safety.

Or climb rubble to investigate a suspicious item.

Or carry ammunition across a field under fire.

Or clear a building with a machine gun.

For those tasks, armies need robots on the ground.

And China just showed the world what the future will look like.

China's Robot Machine-Gun Wolves

In recent footage released by Chinese state television in June, you can see the future of warfare in action.

Four-legged machines move with soldiers, drones, and armored vehicles.

Some carry rifles or machine guns.

Some carry cameras, communications equipment, supplies, and potentially weapons into places too dangerous for a soldier.

China calls them robot wolves.

Its Ministry of National Defense has also shown specialized versions for reconnaissance, attack, and support.

According to the military, these robots can share sensor data and identify potential targets, while humans authorize strikes.

Why legs instead of wheels?

Some terrain is better suited to legs over wheels: stairs, rocks, rubble, broken pavement, and obstacles.

So, the ability to step over something is worth the extra engineering.

There are early demonstrations…

But in the future they could be completely autonomous. That depends on the most critical technology on the machine: its eyes.

How a Robot Wolf Sees

Remember the computer-vision systems we discussed last issue?

Instead of putting those cameras on a Tesla...

You can put them on a nimble machine that moves through tough spaces.

Its software identifies people, vehicles, doorways, and obstacles.

Depth sensors help it determine where things are.

Other systems estimate its position and coordinate its legs.

It must keep making decisions in milliseconds as the terrain changes…

So, this new class of military robots often combines regular cameras with thermal imaging, LiDAR, inertial sensors, and communications links.

When signals are jammed or GPS is unavailable, the robot has to lean on what it can see and sense on board.

And while armed robot wolves make for viral videos, the biggest early market may have nothing to do with pulling a trigger.

Ukraine and Russia

Both sides of the war are putting ground robots to work.

On July 20, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced it had contracted more than 22,000 unmanned ground vehicles in 2026.

Most are wheeled and tracked machines that deliver ammunition, evacuate casualties, and perform dangerous engineering tasks.

In June alone, Ukrainian forces reported more than 16,600 logistics and evacuation missions using ground robots.

Russia is scaling up, too.

In April 2025, the Russian defense minister said the military had received several hundred ground robots in 2024...

With plans to increase deliveries roughly tenfold in 2025.

Independent researchers at StateWatch have identified 32 Russian ground-robot models, with at least 20 documented in combat operations.

Like Ukraine's machines, many are designed for logistics rather than combat.

Ukraine domestically manufactures its own. Russia relies on Chinese components.

Neither translates directly into orders for American stocks.

But both demonstrate that war has changed and future military demand is real.

According to The Business Research Company, the global military ground-robot market is estimated at $4.44 billion in 2026, reaching $6.63 billion by 2030.

That's 10.5% annual growth.

And it covers much more than mechanical dogs: tracked combat vehicles, bomb-disposal robots, reconnaissance machines, and autonomous logistics equipment.

The World Is Getting More Dangerous

On Tuesday, we looked at the Pentagon's new defense strategy and its effort to accelerate autonomous warfare.

But Washington isn't the only potential customer.

Europe is rearming as Russia's war in Ukraine continues.

Asian allies are studying China's increasingly sophisticated military.

Israel and Gulf states are investing in surveillance, border protection, and unmanned defense systems...

And the United States wants allies to assume more responsibility for their own security.

That could mean more overseas demand for American and allied defense technology, not less.

So, the potential customer base for these ground drones stretches far beyond the U.S. Army...

Including internal security departments around the globe.

Here are three stocks that could profit.

The Actual Robot-Dog Stock

LIG Defense & Aerospace (079550.KS)

The first is a South Korean defense contractor, not a U.S.-listed stock.

(But you can trade the Korean exchange through Interactive Brokers.)

In 2024, LIG Defense & Aerospace, then called LIG Nex1, acquired 60% of American company Ghost Robotics for approximately $240 million.

Ghost makes the Vision 60, a rugged four-legged robot used for surveillance and reconnaissance.

According to an August Reuters investigation, Ghost has shipped roughly 1,000 units, mostly to military and government customers.

Its first customer was Navy Special Warfare Command.

Some of the robots sell for more than $165,000 each.

So, they have paying customers, actual machines, and experience meeting military requirements.

Now LIG is showing Vision 60 to new potential buyers, including at a major unmanned-systems exhibition in the United Arab Emirates this year.

As countries spend more on autonomous warfare, I'll be watching to see if Ghost can turn small military deployments into larger fleet orders...

And if they can win more allied customers.

There are risks...

Chinese competitor Unitree manufactures quadrupeds at much greater scale, often far more cheaply.

Also, Ghost is still reliant on China for some of its supply chain.

Finally, LIG's total revenue comes primarily from its broader defense business.

We don't have a separately reported Ghost revenue or profit forecast to value this as a pure robot-dog investment.

The International Ground-Robot Stock

Ondas (ONDS)

Ondas is building a business across drones, counter-drone systems, and ground robotics.

In December 2025, it acquired Roboteam, a manufacturer of tactical ground vehicles used for reconnaissance, bomb disposal, and operations in hazardous environments.

Importantly, Roboteam also developed Roboteam HUB, an AI-powered command-and-control platform that integrates drones, ground robots, and sensors into a single system.

Operators can monitor and coordinate entire robotic units from one interface.

Roboteam says its systems have served defense and security customers in more than 30 countries.

When the acquisition was announced, Ondas said it expected Roboteam to contribute at least $30 million in 2026 revenue.

That international customer network is what interests me.

Ondas reported $83.8 million in second-quarter revenue, more than thirteen times the year-earlier figure.

Management raised its full-year 2026 revenue target to $525 million to $550 million.

The company reported $613 million in backlog at the end of June.

And on October 7, it said it had secured more than $270 million in additional orders since June 30.

Those figures cover Ondas's many businesses, not just Roboteam.

Management also expects fourth-quarter deliveries tied to a $140 million combat-engineering-vehicle program.

What I'm watching: whether military ground-vehicle contracts produce repeat orders, overseas expansion, and profitable deliveries.

The risk? Rapid acquisitions, difficult integration, and heavy losses.

In fact, Ondas lost $89.7 million in the second quarter...

Much of that came from non-cash charges, including $67.6 million of stock-based compensation, as it buys its way toward becoming what it hopes will be the Lockheed Martin of autonomous systems.

For now, we need to see how they turn increased orders into shareholder profits.

The Established American Supplier

Teledyne Technologies (TDY)

Finally, we have a different kind of company.

Teledyne's FLIR Defense business makes sensors, thermal cameras, and military ground robots, including Centaur, PackBot, and FirstLook.

In 2023, it delivered its 1,000th Centaur bomb-disposal robot to the U.S. military.

At the time, the company said it had received orders for more than 1,800 Centaurs worth over $250 million.

Those are real government procurement programs.

And this May, Teledyne introduced the FirstLook 125, a small reconnaissance robot that shares a controller with its Black Hornet 4 nano-drone.

One operator. A flying camera. And a ground robot. Two ways to inspect the same dangerous location without sending in a person first.

Teledyne reported $1.66 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 9.8%.

Management raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share forecast, too.

What I'm watching: new products, additional ground-robot awards, export orders, and recurring revenue from parts, training, and maintenance.

The drawback is scale. Teledyne is so large and diversified that even a successful ground-robot program may barely move its overall revenue.

240X

As I wrote last time…

The Pentagon's autonomous-warfare office received roughly $226 million in fiscal 2026.

Its fiscal 2027 request jumped to $54.6 billion. That's 240X!

Only about $1 billion is in the regular budget. The other $53.6 billion depends on additional legislation.

Over the coming months, I'll be keeping an eye on budget developments.

Once that money looks like it'll get allocated, the numbers to watch are straightforward: real contracts, repeat customers, profitable production, and technology competitors can't easily replace.

The robot wolves are real.

So is the emerging market.

Next issue: Some drones are emerging from beneath the ocean…

Always be prospering,

Harry Seldon
Moonshot Minute

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