Between 2016 and 2021, the Russian military fielded some of these as remote-controlled demonstrators and proofs of concept. Table 1: Pre-February 2022 UGV prototypes fielded and tested by the Russian MoD[2] Name Function Platforma-M Combat UGV Nerekhta Combat UGV Soratnik Combat UGV Kungas UGV swarm concept Skarabey Demining UGV (short-range) Sfera Demining UGV (short-range) Marker UGV RDT&E prototype Uran-6 Demining UGV (short-range) Uran-9 Combat UGV (operator located several km away) Uran-14 Firefighting UGV Udar Combat UGV based on the BMP-3 platform Prokhod -1 Heavy demining UGV Shturm Heavy UGV for urban combat based on the T-72 tank platformThird and perhaps most consequentially, a relatively short RDT&E window prior to the Ukraine invasion did not enable the full development of concepts and tactics for integrating such systems into existing combined arms formations. Regardless, the pre-February 2022 Russian UGV developments were characterised by a trend where different system types were tested – tracked, wheeled, built from scratch or based on existing designs – pointing to the Russian military’s drive to conceptualise and understand modern war. [24]Another Russian UGV allegedly used in Ukraine is the SEM-350 multifunctional tracked platform to evacuate wounded soldiers and deliver supplies. Such tactics may include a degree of autonomy, a goal that the Russian military has been chasing at least since 2016.

Source: Forbes June 19, 2024 13:42 UTC