MIT’s Combat Robotics Club is upgrading its ARES and KRATOS fighting robots while developing a new generation of machines for competitive robot battles. ARES, a 30-pound (13.6 kilograms) combat robot equipped with a vertical spinning weapon known as a beater bar, placed second at an April competition and third in October after failing to win the 2025 National Havoc Robot League (NHRL) World Championships, where it entered as a top seed but suffered two defeats against opponents using similar weapon configurations. The team is using lessons from those losses to strengthen its armor against similar weapon systems. The student-built machines combine high-speed rotating weapons, lightweight structural materials, and compact mechanical systems to withstand repeated impacts while attempting to disable opposing robots. ARES uses a compact, dual-redundant brushless motor arrangement powered through a poly-V belt drive and a brushless four-wheel-drive system, with a chassis combining aluminum, titanium, and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). The club is also upgrading KRATOS while progressing toward a new generation of combat robots.