KNDS internationally launched its Phorio radio solution at DSA 2026, with the Kuala Lumpur exhibition opening on 20 April. Phorio is specifically designed for use on uncrewed platforms such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) and drones.
Joël Morillon, Deputy Managing Director at KNDS Robotics, told Asian Military Review that Phorio was developed with funding from the French Ministry of Defence (MoD) because current radios encounter difficulties and fragility in some unstructured environments and terrain.
These communication problems reduce trust in the operational credibility of robots. Phorio is therefore designed for modern battlefields, where an adversary routinely disrupts and jams radio frequencies.
Morillon listed four advantages that Phorio brings to UGV and drone operations. The first relates to the fact that it depends on a software-defined radio. This optimises radio performance, and its architecture allows scalability.
A second benefit is resistance to jamming, because it uses frequency hopping protocols and a wide radio frequency spectrum. KNDS stated, “Thanks to its advanced frequency-hopping and transmission security capabilities, Phorio ensures uninterrupted communications in the face of modern electromagnetic threats, particularly to enable the use of teleoperated weapons.”
Thirdly, Morillon said Phorio has the range and bandwidth to simultaneously transmit and receive data such as command-and-control signals, video streams, voice and data.
Finally, Phorio features open architecture to accept a customer’s various interfaces, plus the system can be fitted to any unmanned platform. Indeed, new communication modes and customer-specific protocols can be integrated, and the core software can be easily updated.
KNDS concluded, “Phorio thus offers technological longevity, reduces obsolescence cycles, and enables armed forces to benefit from incremental capability improvements throughout the system’s lifecycle.”
KNDS has already sold some Phorio radios to the French MoD. The new system can be selected for tasks where its capabilities are required, or clients can still opt for legacy radios if they wish.
The most popular product in KNDS’s robotic catalogue is the Nerva micro-UGV. KNDS has sold more than 1,000 UGVs to 40 countries to date, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, KNDS’s specialty is providing robotic kits for third-party UGV platforms, something it has been doing since its robotics division was created in 2013. Its portfolio of UGVs evolved significantly since 2018 too, when the company started introducing heavier platforms.
KNDS is experienced in command-and-control and fire control systems, something essential when UGVs are fitted with weapons. A representative said KNDS can guarantee a safe and reliable line of fire for armed UGVs.
Discussing the future of unmanned ground systems, a KNDS spokesperson told AMR that “adoption of UGVs is expected to accelerate significantly across modern militaries, driven by operational, technological and doctrinal factors”.
KNDS expects missions such as force protection to be the primary driver, but also mentioned expanded mission sets such as last-mile logistics, human-machine teaming, secure teleoperation and controlled fires, swarm potential and modular payloads.
Incidentally, KNDS recently announced completion of acquisition of Texelis Defense on 2 April, and the entity has now been renamed KNDS Mobility. Texelis specialised in military mobility platforms, including drivetrains and chassis.
There is an Asian connection here too, because Texelis aided Indonesian company PT SSE to develop the P2 Tiger 4×4 protected vehicle. A scale model of the P2 Tiger was displayed at the KNDS booth at DSA 2026.
by Gordon Arthur
