(ZAPORIZHZHIA OBLAST, UKRAINE) – Unmanned ground vehicles are transforming combat operations across Ukraine’s front line, with remotely controlled machines now conducting logistics, reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and direct attacks on Russian positions.
A Ukrainian logistics UGV carrying fuel was struck by a Russian FPV drone, its cargo igniting, yet the vehicle continued moving, leaving a trail of burning petrol. In a separate night engagement on the Zaporizhzhia front, a Ukrainian assault UGV armed with a Browning heavy machine gun engaged Russian infantry, forcing them into a house subsequently destroyed by a bomb from a Vampire heavy attack drone. Neither ground vehicle had a human crew aboard.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has stated its aim to transfer 100 percent of frontline logistics to robotic platforms this year, sparing lorry drivers from one of the most dangerous roles in the war. Conventional supply trucks are being destroyed in large numbers by attack drones operating in an expanded kill zone extending dozens of miles either side of the front line.
Even travelling at speed, a 15 tonne lorry is considered a sitting target for a skilled drone pilot. Fibre optic controlled attack drones can also wait in ambush on highway surfaces, ready to launch at oncoming traffic.
UGVs are not invulnerable. Along a short stretch of road behind the Zaporizhzhia front, the wrecks of four Ukrainian UGVs are visible. One stray dog conducted a nighttime ambush on a Ukrainian logistics UGV, making off with rations intended for frontline positions.
Despite these losses, UGVs offer significant advantages. They are cheaper than trucks to produce in numbers, smaller, virtually silent and able to travel off-road. This allows them to get closer to the hottest positions undetected, reducing the human cost of holding the 1,000 kilometre front line.
The humanitarian potential of UGVs is already being demonstrated. Ukrainian troops evacuated the body of a fallen comrade using a Termite ground drone in a hostile drone dominated environment. The UGV was subsequently attacked by a Russian fibre optic drone, bombed, and even detonated an anti-personnel mine, yet still completed its mission without further casualties.
In another operation, a ground drone equipped with a robotic claw captured an abandoned Russian PKM light machine gun during an assault by the Third Separate Assault Brigade.
Armed UGVs are being deployed in increasing numbers and variants as their manned counterparts become increasingly vulnerable to kamikaze drones. Tanks, which once dominated the battlefield, have become scarce and cautious.
A Ukrainian UGV from the Fourth Special Operations Brigade used its machine gun to neutralise a Russian fibre optic kamikaze drone lying in wait on a logistics route. At night, another Ukrainian UGV armed with a Browning .50 cal ambushed and drove off an approaching Soviet era Russian infantry fighting vehicle.
Russia is also developing UGVs. Two Russian armoured vehicles, each an Impulse M platform armed with a 30mm automatic grenade launcher, manoeuvred into firing positions. A third Impulse M mounted a North Korean designed Type 75 multiple rocket launcher with a range of 8 kilometres. Neither weapon system is state of the art, but the platforms are.
Crossfire visited the 65th Brigade in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to witness a live firing test of a new Ukrainian attack UGV called the Gnome VP21. The demonstration was delayed by a glide bomb alert, with personnel taking cover in a bunker.
The Gnome resembles a dental hygienist trolley in size and outline, but is armed with two rocket propelled grenade launchers and a belt fed PKM light machine gun. It provides the fire support of a squad of soldiers without putting them in harm’s way. Using fibre optic cable control, the killer robot can be operated from up to 20 kilometres away.
During the test, the Gnome’s machine gun fired bursts at targets while observers stood behind the drone. When the RPGs were launched, observers stood to one side due to back blast. One RPG appeared to be a dud and required recovery.
The Gnome development team is led by an engineer in his twenties who was studying aeronautical engineering before the full scale Russian invasion. He explained that each Gnome can be transformed from wheel to track locomotion or vice versa, and each production model can be controlled by radio signal or fibre optic cable.
Testing of the Gnome’s base model in combat conditions has already led to at least one modification.
Robotic warfare is developing at an extraordinary rate. An unmanned sea drone landed an armed UGV of the 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade on a beach along the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast. The UGV then attacked a Russian position. Ukraine claims this is the first combined operation of its kind seen anywhere in the world.
The next stage is artificial intelligence. The Gnome and other attack drones could soon be fully autonomous, trained to identify, pursue and kill targets without human control
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