On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the American company Kodiak AI, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, California, announced that it had received a contract from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) to integrate its AI-powered Kodiak Driver autonomous driving system with the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires unmanned launchers, based on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) chassis.
Image: Kodiak AI
The integration of the Kodiak Driver system will enable the United States Marine Corps to better understand how autonomous operations can extend operational reach, increase operational tempo, and reduce risk to Marines during high-end expeditionary missions. Kodiak AI will demonstrate the maturity and modularity of its autonomous system by leveraging its existing software stack and hardware interfaces.
“The Kodiak Driver is a powerful dual-use capability that leverages physical AI to strengthen defense readiness through scalable and adaptive applications in order to keep Marines out of harm’s way,” said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak AI. “We have extensively tested our autonomous system in our prior efforts with the military and believe this work with the Marine Corps allows us to further showcase how Kodiak’s technology performs in unstructured and unmapped environments.”
The contract further underscores Kodiak AI’s role as a trusted autonomy partner in the defense sector. In 2022, Kodiak AI was selected for a three-year contract with the United States Army under the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program to deliver a comprehensive autonomous solution, receiving approximately 30 million USD as part of that effort. Through this engagement, the company conducted real-world testing in off-road and combat-related environments, including mountainous grasslands in California, desert terrain in Texas, and snowy conditions in Michigan.
ROGUE Fires
The ROGUE Fires unmanned launchers are being introduced into service with the United States Marine Corps under the NMESIS (Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) program, in line with the Force Design 2030 initiative. The system’s base platforms are built on the armored Oshkosh JLTV A1. The prime contractor for the system is RTX, with the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) serving as a subcontractor. The launchers carry two Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship missiles, although a variant has also been developed to carry a single RGM-109 Tomahawk Block V cruise missile in the anti-ship Maritime Strike Tomahawk configuration.
Oshkosh Defense also offers evolutions of the launcher adapted for MLRS MFOM guided artillery munitions, as well as the L-MAV (Light Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle) variant with additional options for Switchblade 600 loitering munitions and the Titan C-UAS counter-drone system, capable of radio-frequency jamming and electronic warfare operations.
Kodiak Driver to power USMC ROGUE-Fires carrier platform.
Kodiak has been awarded a U.S. Marine Corps contract to integrate its autonomous system into the ROGUE-Fires vehicle, extending physical AI from commercial deployment to military missions.https://t.co/I9SLE9ykDm pic.twitter.com/ecgMb8DxzP
— Kodiak AI (@KodiakRobotics) February 11, 2026