The government places under protection the new technologies developed by Pirelli and Abet High Tech Solutions for unmanned ground vehicles also intended for defense. The Council of Ministers decided on September 24 to exercise the special powers of the golden power on the activities of the two companies considered to be of strategic importance for national security. Palazzo Chigi has imposed a series of technical and organizational requirements with the aim of protecting patents, know-how, products and above all the data generated by new technologies, as well as ensuring that research and development activities considered strategic remain under adequate protection.
The decision also concerns the agreement announced on August 5 by Pirelli and Abet to develop remotely guided electric land vehicles, the so-called Unmanned ground vehicles, intended to operate where sending a person would be too dangerous: from the rubble of an earthquake to fires, up to contaminated or potentially radioactive areas and military theatres.
At first glance it may seem strange to find Pirelli in a provision relating to defence. The project, however, goes much further than the production of simple tyres. The Milanese company brings to the agreement above all Cyber Tire technology, the intelligent tire equipped with physical and virtual sensors capable of collecting information while the vehicle is moving and transmitting it to the vehicle in real time.
In the project with Abet, the data coming from the tires will be combined with that of the cameras and other sensors installed on the vehicle. The two companies will also work together on artificial intelligence and machine learning systems that can process this information, build predictive models and improve the vehicle’s behavior as it traverses difficult terrain. Pirelli will also develop a specific tire based on its Run Forward technologies. In practice, the tire becomes one of the robot’s “senses”: it helps to understand what surface it is moving on and to regulate the behavior of the vehicle even when it is controlled remotely.
Who is Abet High Tech Solutions
The second partner is less known to the general public, but is already present in the defense sector. Abet High Tech Solutions, a company of the Abet group based in Bra, in the province of Cuneo, was founded as an independent company in 2023 from the group’s activities dedicated to composite materials. It produces lightweight sandwich panels, mechanical structures and components made by combining different materials.
Part of its activity directly concerns military applications. In its catalog Abet HTS presents ballistic and explosion protection systems, protected modular shelters, panels against explosions and fragments, landing surfaces for difficult terrain and unmanned ground vehicles. Among these there is already the Ulisse Ugv Drn-0100, an unmanned electric land vehicle designed to transport heavy loads on rough terrain.
The project with Pirelli therefore aims to combine two skills: on the one hand robotic platforms and materials designed for extreme conditions, on the other intelligent tyres, sensors, data collection and algorithms.
The Cyber Tire precedent and Pirelli’s Chinese node
For Pirelli it is not the first intervention of the golden power. In April 2026, the government had already defined the Cyber Tire as a technology of strategic importance, underlining that the intelligent tire is capable of collecting information on driving and terrain conditions and that the technology can be used for applications such as autonomous driving, monitoring of critical infrastructure and digital twins.
In that proceeding, Palazzo Chigi had also imposed new limitations in the relations between Pirelli and its main Chinese shareholder, China National Tire & Rubber Corporation, attributable to the state-owned Sinochem group, providing specific protections to prevent access to confidential technical information, research and development activities and intellectual property.
Pirelli and Abet HTS made it known that they welcomed the government’s decision. The requirements therefore allow the project to continue, but within a security perimeter set by Palazzo Chigi to prevent technologies, data and know-how considered strategic from being transferred or used without adequate controls.