Dawn breaks over futuristic battlefield

As robots rolled through sandy terrain, negotiating barbed wire, trenches and simulated landmines, it looked less like a robotics competition and more like a glimpse into a futuristic battlefield.

The challenging course, built by 13 Bde’s 13 Engineer Regiment for Exercise Western Dawn 2026, was designed to replicate the complex and hazardous terrain of Australia’s vast littoral environment.

Six teams comprising Defence personnel, academics and Defence industry professionals spent two weeks designing, building and adapting a set of uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) to map hostile terrain, navigate autonomously and work with overhead drones to plot a course through the battlefield.

PO Steve Duggan, from the Centre for Innovation West at HMAS Stirling and leader of Team ‘Tready Bear’, described the competition as “enjoyably stressful”, citing tight timelines and technical challenges.

Despite the hurdles, he was proud of the way his team pulled together.

“We’ve got a team with a massive variance of skill levels, from complete starters to specialists, and we’ve pulled together really well and come up with a viable solution,” PO Duggan said.

This year, the third consecutive year of the exercise, participating teams spent a week at Edith Cowan University’s Joondalup Campus to use its advanced robotics facilities.

Commander 13 Bde Brig Damian Bushell, who had challenged the teams to be curious and innovative in his opening address, praised the participants for their collaborative approach.

“All the teams, from academia, small and medium enterprises and warfighters from across the ADF, including 13 Brigade and the 2nd (Australian) Division, have come together and taken up the challenge,” Brig Bushell said.

Teams put their creations to the test on the final day of the exercise, battling it out in a head-to-head challenge at the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct.

Teams were assessed on their problem-solving skills, ability to coordinate the UGV and drone, and how effectively they navigated the course.

In an additional unscored event, teams went head-to-head in a robot wars-style contest, with two UGVs entering the arena from opposite ends and racing to detect their opponent first.

An impressive range of UGV designs entered the fray, with teams employing features such as scissor-lift camera mounts, telescopic arms and even repurposed smoke canisters to mask their movements from opposing teams.

Brig Bushell was impressed by the way the teams proved their ability to challenge traditional thought, display curiosity and, most importantly, be innovative.

“Army is hardwired for adaptation, and what we've seen over the past two weeks is people from different backgrounds coming together to solve problems in new ways and deliver real capability outcomes,” Brig Bushell said.

“Along with Perth having hosted the 2026 Land Forces conference, it's exciting to see this innovation and collaboration happening here in Western Australia.”

See more images from Exercise Western Dawn.