New unmanned systems seen in joint UAE, Azerbaijan exercise

A still from a video released on 3 February shows a quadruped robot supporting Emirati and Azerbaijani soldiers during Exercise ‘Peace Shield 2026'. (Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence)

Unmanned air and land systems that have not previously been seen in service featured in Exercise ‘Peace Shield 2026', a joint Azerbaijani-Emirati exercise that concluded on 3 February.

Videos released by both the ministries of defence (MoDs) of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed at least five quadruped robots – two with wheels on their legs and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors – supporting soldiers from both countries as they cleared buildings at the Al-Hamra Combat Training Centre in western Abu Dhabi.

These looked identical to the Chinese company Unitree's B2, which has the option of replacing its feet with wheels. Unitree says the B2 can walk continuously for 4 hours carrying a 20 kg load over a distance of 15 km, as well as climb a 40 cm obstacle and jump gaps up to 120 cm.

At least two unmanned helicopters with tandem rotors participated in the exercise, with one being used to evacuate a simulated casualty on an underslung rescue stretcher and the other landing with a cargo pod attached between its skids.

These aircraft could be identified as the 500H made by the Emirati company Resource Industries, which says the petrol-powered helicopter has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 650 kg with a 150 kg payload and an endurance of 3 hours and one-way range of 200 km when carrying a full payload.

An Azerbaijani soldier was also seen operating an Aselsan İHASAVAR manportable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) jamming system, which has previously been seen in service with Azerbaijani special forces in 2024.