With these combat robots, Ukraine wants to scare the Russians

Drones play a crucial role in the war in Ukraine. For example, Russian kamikaze drones hit Ukrainian cities. Individual examples of the small unmanned missiles repeatedly maneuver past Ukrainian air defenses, hitting power plants and – all too often – the civilian population.

Above all, Russians and Ukrainians use drones at the front. For reconnaissance purposes, but especially for attacks on enemy positions with explosive charges. A real drone race has begun; The remote-controlled aircraft fly in swarms through the air above the front lines.

Ukraine is currently in danger of losing the race. This may be one reason why Kiev is now increasingly looking to rely on drone-like weapons over land.

What is Ukraine planning?

The Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mychailo Fedorov, this week announced plans to mass-produce moving robots, also known in military jargon as “unmanned land vehicles.” The fundraising platform ‘United24’, launched by the Ukrainian government, announced that it would purchase hundreds of these robots for the Ukrainian army.

“It is an asymmetric response to the enemy’s numerical superiority,” Fedorov said. This means that the Russians may have more soldiers, but with the right military equipment, one Ukrainian fighter can be just as effective as several Russians.

The robots could become just as crucial at the front as drones are now, the minister said. “The robots have proven successful on the training ground and will be on the battlefield in a few months.”

The vehicles are also likely to be important for Ukraine as conventional artillery warfare has come to a standstill. Ukrainian forces have been suffering from a shortage of ammunition for months and Western supporters are currently unable to keep up with their deliveries.

Which robots are already being used?

Both Russia and Ukraine already use land robots on the front lines, albeit on a limited scale. The vehicles can be used in different ways. There is little information about what exactly the Ukrainian military uses them for. However, video and photo recordings show that the robots lay mines and carry out kamikaze attacks in which the vehicles equipped with explosive charges blow themselves up when they arrive at their destination.

Estonian weapons manufacturer Milrem Robotics delivered 14 units of its Themis to Ukraine in 2022 with German financing. The tracked vehicle can evacuate soldiers, but can also be equipped with cannons to carry out attacks.

According to Fedorov, the robots currently in development will be able to lay and disarm mines, carry out attacks and even evacuate wounded soldiers. “United24” published photos of larger vehicles equipped with stretchers.

Toy cars and mini tanks

Unmanned land vehicles are not new. The Soviet Union first used its teletanks during World War II. The radio-controlled vehicles were similar in shape and basic operation to modern land robots, but were considerably larger. Nazi Germany, in turn, brought the Goliath to the battlefield, which had a range of up to a mile. With its two drive chains, the Goliath looked like a miniature tank.

Modern examples come in various designs, ranging from small, maneuverable vehicles resembling remote-controlled toy cars to small tank-like vehicles. Artificial intelligence is also increasingly playing a role in the development of land robots.

Milrem Robotics recently launched a variant of the Themis, equipped with a machine gun that automatically detects and fires on targets. A few months ago, Israel introduced Robust, a five-ton armored vehicle that maneuvers itself using software similar to that of self-driving cars.

The problem: land robots are more complex and expensive

Ukraine hopes that the land robots will provide similar benefits to the aerial drones. They allow attacks on enemy positions without putting your own troops in the line of fire.

Frank Sauer, expert in autonomous weapon systems from the Bundeswehr University in Munich believes that Ukraine is an ideal application area for land robots. “The topography in parts of Ukraine with many flat and sparsely vegetated areas, in contrast to urban terrain, seems to me to be more favorable for the use of such drones,” Sauer recently told “Spiegel”.

But according to military experts, the development of land robots is significantly more complex and expensive than that of drones. This is partly because land is inherently more difficult terrain to navigate than air. There are more obstacles and the ground vehicles lack the bird’s eye view that drones have.

In Ukraine, the technology cluster ‘Brave 1’, which was founded last year, is working hard on the production of robots. According to their own information, there are currently 140 different models in development, of which 96 have been successfully tested. This includes not only vehicles, but also stationary, remote-controlled machine guns. Brave 1 is doing “everything to stimulate the production of robots,” said Minister Fedorov.

Sources

(t-online/dsc)