IDV CL2X Hybrid Uncrewed Light Tank Emerges as Robotic Wingman for Main Battle Tanks.

IDV has unveiled the CL2X Hybrid Uncrewed Light Tank, a 16-tonne tracked combat vehicle designed to operate alongside main battle tanks and push combat power deeper into contested areas without exposing crews to the highest-risk missions. Detailed by the company on 16 June 2026, the platform reflects the growing shift toward armed robotic formations that can expand battlefield reach, increase combat mass, and strengthen force survivability in environments saturated with drones, anti-tank weapons, and electronic warfare threats.

Armed with a Leonardo HITFIST 30 UL unmanned turret, hybrid-electric propulsion, autonomous-ready controls, and GNSS-denied navigation capabilities, the CL2X combines direct-fire support, reconnaissance, and counter-drone engagement within a single uncrewed platform. Its design supports the emerging manned-unmanned teaming model, enabling robotic wingmen to serve as forward sensors, fire-support assets, and high-risk maneuver elements while preserving human crews for command and tactical decision-making.

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IDV's new CL2X Hybrid Uncrewed Light Tank is a 16-ton autonomous combat vehicle designed to operate as a robotic wingman for main battle tanks, combining hybrid-electric propulsion, a 30 mm unmanned turret, and advanced autonomous navigation to extend battlefield reach while reducing risk to human crews (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group)

On 16 June 2026, IDV, a Leonardo Company, unveiled new details of the CL2X Hybrid Uncrewed Light Tank, a tracked autonomous combat platform designed for the next stage of robotic land warfare. Built around hybrid propulsion, remote operation, teleoperation and autonomous-ready control architecture, the CL2X is not presented as a support robot but as a combat vehicle able to accompany tanks, extend battlefield reach and reduce the exposure of personnel. Its relevance lies in a central shift now shaping modern armies: the move from isolated uncrewed systems to armed robotic formations integrated into command-and-control networks.

The CL2X marks a significant step in IDV’s approach to uncrewed ground vehicles, combining the mobility of a tracked armoured platform with the operational logic of manned-unmanned teaming. The vehicle is designed to operate inside a networked battlefield, where one command-and-control vehicle can coordinate several combat UGVs and distribute missions between crewed and uncrewed assets. This doctrine changes the traditional structure of armoured manoeuvre by allowing robotic vehicles to act as forward sensors, fire-support platforms, flank guards, decoys or expendable combat multipliers. For land forces facing drone saturation, anti-tank threats, electronic warfare and manpower constraints, the CL2X points toward a model in which combat mass can be increased without placing additional crews in the most exposed areas.

The CL2X is based on a series-hybrid architecture with a range extender used to recharge the battery system. IDV indicates a gross vehicle weight of 16 tonnes and a payload capacity of up to 5 tonnes, giving the platform enough reserve for weapon stations, mission modules, surveillance payloads or future role-specific equipment. The vehicle delivers up to 500 kW of tractive power and is supported by a rechargeable energy storage system of up to 130 kWh. Its road range reaches up to 500 km, including approximately 30 km in silent mode, a capability that can be decisive for concealed approach, reconnaissance, ambush positioning and movement in environments where acoustic and thermal signatures are increasingly exploited by sensors and drones.

The technical data displayed with the CL2X confirms that IDV is positioning the platform closer to a light tracked combat vehicle than to a conventional robotic carrier. The vehicle measures 6 m in length with barrel, 2.5 m in width, 1.8 m in hull height and 2.5 m in height with turret without optics. Ground clearance is listed at 0.5 m, with 45-degree approach and departure angles. Mobility data includes a maximum speed of 70 km/h, 60 percent gradient climbing, 30 percent side-slope capability, 0.7 m step crossing, 2 m trench crossing, 1.5 m fording depth and pivot turning. The platform also uses hydraulic brakes, hydro-pneumatic suspensions and rubber or steel track alternatives, allowing commanders to balance reduced noise signature, terrain adaptation and durability according to mission requirements.

The CL2X configuration shown by IDV places the platform in a “wingman” role for main battle tanks, providing fire support while removing operators from direct exposure. The vehicle is fitted with the Leonardo HITFIST 30 UL, an unmanned light turret armed with a 30 mm weapon system using programmable air burst ammunition, with more than 150 rounds ready to fire according to the technical board. The turret is described as a compact, lightweight, unmanned medium-calibre system intended for light and amphibious vehicles and built around an NGVA-compliant architecture to support interoperability. Its armament package includes the 30 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, smoke launchers and provision for anti-tank missile launchers, giving the vehicle a layered effect against ground targets, asymmetric threats and potentially armoured threats depending on final configuration.

The fire-control and sensor architecture is central to the CL2X’s battlefield value. The HITFIST 30 UL includes a fully digital fire-control system, stabilized line of fire, stabilized commander and gunner sights, day camera, thermal infrared sensor and eye-safe laser rangefinder. Its movement envelope provides 360-degree unlimited traverse and elevation from -10 to +70 degrees, with up to +85 degrees for counter-UAS missions. This gives the CL2X a vertical engagement profile adapted to low-flying drones and loitering munitions, while Hunter-Hunter, Hunter-Killer and Killer-Killer operating modes allow detection, designation and engagement tasks to be distributed more efficiently between operators and sensors. In practical terms, the vehicle can contribute not only to direct fire support but also to the protection of armoured formations against aerial and asymmetric threats.

The autonomy layer gives the CL2X a broader role than that of an armed remote-controlled vehicle. IDV links the platform to its MACE autonomy stack and ATLAS GNSS-denied navigation technology, both designed for integration into new vehicles and retrofit onto existing platforms. This is operationally important because current battlefields are increasingly affected by jamming, spoofing, disrupted satellite navigation and contested communications. A robotic combat vehicle able to support teleoperation, remote control and autonomous functionalities in degraded environments would give commanders more options for reconnaissance, route security, forward surveillance, high-risk manoeuvre and engagement in areas where crewed vehicles would face unacceptable exposure.

The CL2X also fits into IDV’s wider system-of-systems concept for uncrewed ground warfare. IDV describes a command model in which multiple linked screens and control nodes can connect a theatre-wide commander view with desk-based operators and dismounted soldiers, allowing control of individual UGVs to be transferred as the tactical situation changes. This approach supports high-level fleet tasking by brigade or battalion commanders, rapid switching between vehicles and payloads, live target-detection feeds shared across the network and reconnaissance-strike sequences. Applied to the CL2X, this concept could allow a small command team to direct several armed robotic vehicles in support of a larger formation, creating a “few men, many vehicles” model that increases combat effect while reducing personnel risk.

The industrial message behind the CL2X is clear. IDV is not only showing a new tracked robotic platform; it is presenting a concept for how Western land forces could introduce uncrewed combat mass into armoured units in the near term. Claudio Catalano, CEO of IDV, underlined that drones and improvised explosive devices are making the battlefield increasingly dangerous for personnel and that uncrewed systems are becoming essential for force protection and operational effectiveness. His comments reflect a wider procurement trend in which UGVs are moving from experimental projects to practical land capability requirements, especially across NATO forces seeking deployable, scalable and cost-effective robotic systems.

With its 16-tonne tracked chassis, 5-tonne payload capacity, hybrid-electric propulsion, 500 km range, silent mobility mode, 30 mm unmanned turret, counter-drone firing angles and autonomous-ready command architecture, the CL2X introduces a new category between light robotic carriers and crewed armoured fighting vehicles. Its future value will depend on how armed forces integrate control links, autonomy levels, rules of engagement, logistics and survivability into existing armoured formations. The direction, however, is already visible: IDV is positioning the CL2X as a robotic combat partner for tanks, designed to take risk forward, extend sensor and weapons reach, and preserve human crews for decision-making rather than exposure. The next armoured battlefield will not be defined only by heavier platforms, but by the ability to combine crewed and uncrewed systems into distributed, resilient and networked combat formations.

Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.