Ukraine to deploy robotic vehicles to the frontline to preserve the lives of soldiers
Ukraine's military is preparing to deploy robotic dog units to the frontline against Russia, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has announced.
Its defence ministry unveiled plans to unleash robotic dog units equipped with a mounted gun on the battlefield.
"Ukraine is increasing the production of these systems and deploying full-fledged robotic units as part of the combat brigades of the armed forces on the frontline," said Mr Umerov.
"We are introducing innovative technologies in the defence forces to preserve our soldiers."
The quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) will join a broader push to automate frontline operations, aiming to reduce human risk and increase operational efficiency.
Robotic ground vehicles are expected to take on a variety of battlefield roles, including offensive and defensive operations, logistics support, casualty evacuation, and mine clearance
Both sides of the conflict have already fielded UGVs, and typically these systems are controlled remotely via a camera feed, but future iterations may incorporate greater levels of autonomy.
Mr Umerov went on: "The Ministry of Defence is launching a project that will allow scaling up the use of unmanned ground systems in the army.
"This project is based on the experience of tests that have been conducted since the summer of 2024 in cooperation with military personnel. "
"Unmanned ground systems have proven their ability to perform a number of combat missions, to implement offensive and defensive operations, to provide logistical support to units, to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield to mine and demine territories.
"We continue to transform the Armed Forces of Ukraine into a modern army that has a technological advantage over the enemy.
"Our goal is to create an army where innovative technologies help to perform the most dangerous tasks, saving the lives of our defenders."
Drone and uncrewed vehicle technology has played a major part in the conflict in Ukraine since the beginning.
Units such as the Unmanned Strike Aviation Brigade (USAB) and the mysterious Group 13 are known to deploy uncrewed systems against Russian forces, both in the air and at sea.
Members of the USAB have released footage which appears to show a Russian fibre-optic drone being targeted mid-flight by one of Ukraine's newly developed mobile radar systems.
Group 13 have also been known to release footage of their attacks against Russia's Black Sea fleet using uncrewed one-way attack vessels.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
