On a battlefield increasingly monitored by drones, Kiev is betting on armed ground robots to stop small Russian infiltration units and reduce the exposure of Ukrainian soldiers in the most dangerous areas of the front.
Ukraine is installing weapon systems on robots land to create what local manufacturers describe as “small tanks” capable of attacking Russian infiltration teams without exposing soldiers on the front line.
The strategy responds to one of the main tactics used by Russia on the battlefield: small groups of soldiers who discreetly cross Ukrainian lines, trying to avoid detection by drones to gain positions or disorganize defenses.
A massive presence of drones made the areas close to the combat front extremely dangerous, creating what military officials describe as a “death zone”, where large troop movements and armored vehicles are easily detected and attacked.
The Ukrainian company is among the manufacturers that have already started adapting their equipment to this new reality.
Your system, a autonomous remote control tower which can fire grenades or machine guns, began to be used in fixed positions and camouflaged to stop Russian attacks, but has now been mounted on robotic vehiclesallowing you to move across terrain and attack from mobile positions.
Second Mykyta Rozhkovhead of the Ukrainian company, two operators can control the vehicle tens of kilometers from the frontdriving him through forest areas to try prevent Russian groups from penetrating deeper in Ukrainian defenses.
A rapid evolution of the battlefield has forced Ukrainian manufacturers to constantly change your products. Segundo a Frontline Robotics he does small modificationsup to 20 times a month, and introduces deeper updates, as a rule, every six months, based on the permanent return of soldiers.
Rozhkov says this ability to adapt gives Ukrainian companies a advantage difficult for NATO countries to replicate.
O use of ground robots has grown rapidly. These systems are used to andevacuate wounded, transport suppliesplace or remove mines and launch attacks.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, the armed forces carried out more than 50 thousand logistics and evacuation missions with ground robots since the beginning of the year, well above the two thousand missions registered in the six months prior to December.
The main advantage of ground robots is reduce human risk. Unlike tanks and armored vehicles, robots areThey are cheaper, quicker to replace and do not carry crews. If they are destroyed, there are no lives lost.
According to , other Ukrainian companies are also following the same logic, equipping robots with grenade launchers and machine guns to allow ranged attacks.
For the Ukrainian military, the ability to change position, enter Russian trenches and continue to operate under enemy fire makes these systems particularly valuable. The goal, manufacturers say, is to defend entire sectors “without humans” whenever possible.
