Liminal Industries DUEL-V

History

The Liminal Industries DUEL-V, short for Dynamic Unmanned Expendable Light Vehicle, is a compact unmanned ground vehicle developed in the United States for low-cost production and large-scale military fielding. The four-wheeled platform is remotely operated and uses a modular layout intended to accept different mission payloads.

Liminal Industries designed DUEL-V around low cost, adaptability, scalable manufacture, and straightforward operator use. Its development approach emphasizes field testing, operator feedback, and rapid hardware changes between successive versions.

DUEL-V entered the GroundBreaker 1 evaluation process in 2026 and advanced from the initial technical evaluation to Phase II. Multiple vehicles are scheduled to be demonstrated to U.S. military evaluators at Camp Grafton, North Dakota, in mid-October 2026.

Development

Liminal Industries first unveiled DUEL-V on October 14, 2025. The company presented the vehicle as an inexpensive ground platform intended to be manufactured and deployed in much larger numbers than traditional specialized unmanned ground systems.

Development has focused on a compact vehicle architecture that can support different payloads without changing the basic platform. Publicly available information does not establish its dimensions, weight, maximum speed, operating range, payload capacity, degree of automated driving, resistance to electronic jamming, or unit price.

GroundBreaker 1

DUEL-V was submitted to GroundBreaker 1, a U.S. military demonstration program intended to accelerate evaluation and adoption of unmanned ground vehicles. The competition seeks complete systems suitable for combat and non-combat tasks, with candidate vehicles evaluated for technical merit, readiness to demonstrate, affordability, and previous performance.

Liminal Industries announced on September 28, 2026 that DUEL-V had passed the Phase I technical evaluation and advanced to Phase II. The company plans to bring multiple vehicles to Camp Grafton for field demonstrations in mid-October 2026. Service members are expected to operate the vehicles under realistic field conditions and provide feedback on usability and mission performance.

Successful GroundBreaker 1 participants may subsequently be invited to submit technical and cost proposals for prototype Other Transaction Agreement awards. Advancement to Phase II does not establish that DUEL-V has entered military service or production procurement.

Design

DUEL-V is built around a compact four-wheeled flatbed configuration. It uses four-wheel drive and is designed to operate in either orientation, reducing the need to turn the vehicle around before reversing its direction of travel.

The platform uses a modular architecture intended to accept different mission payloads. The available information does not identify specific payload modules or confirm which GroundBreaker mission categories DUEL-V will demonstrate.

DUEL-V is remotely operated. No confirmed information establishes the extent of autonomous navigation or other self-driving functions, and no published technical data defines its communications system, sensors, power source, endurance, protection level, or electronic-warfare resilience.

Program status

As of October 2026, DUEL-V remains under development and evaluation. Its advancement to Phase II of GroundBreaker 1 represents a planned military demonstration rather than operational adoption. Liminal Industries intends the design to support high-volume production, but no confirmed production quantity, procurement contract, service-entry date, or military operator has been established.

Specifications (DUEL-V)

General characteristics

• Type: Unmanned ground vehicle
• Control: Remote operation
• Configuration: Compact four-wheeled flatbed platform
• Drive: Four-wheel drive
• Mission architecture: Modular layout for interchangeable mission payloads
• Directional operation: Capable of operating in either orientation