SĒLIJA, Latvia — In southeastern Latvia, roughly 180 kilometers (112 miles) away from the Russian border, multinational operators of cutting-edge robot-like vehicles are grappling with an inevitable force of nature: deep woodlands disrupting their communication links.
From May 5-15, the Latvian-led NATO exercise Crystal Arrow is taking place here, during which the alliance is conducting large-scale testing of hundreds of unmanned ground vehicles at the brigade level for the first time. NATO’s Task Force X (TFX) selected European manufacturers to test their platforms under the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, aimed at accelerating the adoption of new defense technologies.
However, several users reported significant challenges with the UGVs’ communication systems, many of them using Starlink as their main one, in densely forested areas of Latvia.
“A key challenge of operating a Starlink-equipped UGV is under a canopy of trees [dense foliage], which degrades communication links very rapidly or blocks the line-of-sight required to maintain high-speed, continuous connection,” a soldier of the Latvian National Guard, wishing to remain anonymous for security reasons, told Breaking Defense.
He was tasked with operating the Natrix UGV, a Latvian-made platform tested in Ukraine, which can be adapted to various mission sets but was used primarily for logistics and medical evacuation during the exercise. Aside from Starlink, the ground robot is also equipped with two other communication systems: a medium, longer-range radioand a closer-range radio, so if one fails, the other can take over.
When asked about relying on an American satellite system, the soldier said he would not feel comfortable with it being the only connection option, as “with recent developments we’ve seen it can be beneficial but also subject to disappearing suddenly.”
A request for comment to SpaceX was not returned.
The communication issue was not limited to ground robots; it also affected aerial drones, with vegetation acting as a sort of barrier. Canadian soldiers, part of a reconnaissance unit within NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia, reported encountering similar hiccups during the deployment of the American-made Raven-B drone.
“How high and dense the tree line is messes with our equipment and signal,” Corporal Elana Clement told reporters here during the exercise. (Breaking Defense accepted travel and accommodation support from NATO to cover the event.)
According to Latvia’s Investment and Development Agency, forests cover 50 percent of the country’s territory, making it one of the most wooded states in Europe. In contrast, in Ukraine, which currently operates the largest number of combat robots in active combat, woodlands cover around 16 percent of the overall territory, creating a more open operational environment.
The Baltic state is among several countries interested in gradually introducing UGVs into their military structure and doctrine to complement existing capabilities. Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in a Telegram post in April that Kyiv will contract industry to produce 25,000 UGV’s over the first half of 2026, in response to “increased demand.”
However, Latvian officers are careful to warn that the Ukrainian experience is not exportable everywhere, even when facing a common enemy neighbor.
“In Ukraine, the line of sight is much further — in Latvia it is much closer, and this allows us to utilize this terrain for our needs and as an advantage where it’s easy to block the roads, for example,” Maj. Eduards Šinkūns, the exercise director and Commander of the Latvian Infantry Battalion, said.
He added that harsh Latvian winters demand a rethink of fighting tactics. Warmer months allow for easier off-road maneuverability of vehicles, including UGVs, whereas winter conditions make these movements nearly impossible due to mud.
