Foundation Future Robotics, a company backed by Eric Trump, sent its Phantom MK 1 humanoid robots to Ukraine in February, becoming the first firm to deploy humanoid robots in a combat zone.
The company is now discussing sending more MK 1 units to Israel. Co-founder Mike LeBlanc says he expects robots to take on much of the fighting in the years ahead.
“In the next five to 10 years, I would expect humanoids, ground vehicles and drones to do most of the major fighting,” LeBlanc said. “Humans would mainly handle special forces and small, highly targeted operations.” LeBlanc is a former Marine Corps officer who served three tours in the Middle East.
While other robotics companies have developed military drones and humanoid robots for homes, LeBlanc said Foundation is the first to build humanoids specifically for warfare.
The MK 1 robots sent to Ukraine can carry about 88 pounds. For now, he said, they are better suited to support roles, such as moving ammunition, loading munitions and handling manual labor.
LeBlanc described the Ukraine deployment as a proof of concept. The company is already close to shipping its next model, the MK 2.
“It is 6 feet tall, 185 pounds, created in my own image,” he joked.
He said the new robot is designed to operate machine guns and engage enemies. LeBlanc called the MK 2 the biggest, fastest and strongest humanoid on the market, adding that it can already lift him. Its larger carrying capacity, he said, could make it useful for heavy industrial tasks as well as setting up heavy machine guns.
Ukraine is likely to be the first place the MK 2 is deployed. LeBlanc said the country offers a relevant testing ground because machines already play a major role in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“In Ukraine, robots are very much a question of today and today’s battlefield,” he said.
LeBlanc also reflected on how quickly the technology has changed. During tours in Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013, he said, small drones were little more than a supplementary tool, with a limited field of view.
“Today, when you go to Ukraine, it’s actually drones first that are doing the fighting, and the humans that are the small supplement,” he said.
Still, LeBlanc doesn’t think people will disappear from battlefields altogether. He recalled being at a high-end restaurant in New York where a waiter had to fix a wobbly table with napkins.
“We are a species of workarounds,” he said, arguing that people can adapt to almost any situation. He expects the number of humans in combat to fall substantially, but thinks some will remain.
LeBlanc acknowledged that the idea of armed humanoid robots may bring to mind a “Terminator” scenario, with machines deciding who lives and dies. He said those fears are understandable, particularly for people far removed from combat.
But, he argued, those who have served on the front lines may support using robots to keep people out of danger. “We had a saying in the Marine Corps: never send a Marine where you could send a bullet first,” he said. “At Foundation, we always say, don’t send a Marine where you can send a humanoid first.”
He also addressed unease about artificial intelligence, which he said is what makes humanoid robots possible. LeBlanc compared the development of AI to a “digital nuclear program” and said companies putting robots into combat should face scrutiny. He added that Foundation has been subject to oversight.
LeBlanc expects that scrutiny to grow if Democrats take control of Congress in January. Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized Foundation’s connection to Eric Trump, who first invested in the company and now serves as a strategic adviser.
LeBlanc said Trump mostly advises the company on property and plans for manufacturing facilities, and enjoys discussing mechanical subjects.
After Foundation received a $24 million Pentagon contract to research humanoid robots, Warren questioned the deal in a post on X, asking whether the Pentagon had become a “cash machine” for the Trump family and describing the situation as apparent corruption.
LeBlanc rejected that characterization, saying it did not match the facts or his experience with the company.
