- Ukraine deploys robotic units to reduce exposure of frontline soldiers
- Ground robots now handle logistics and combat functions on the battlefield.
- Commanders see machines replacing almost a third of infantry
More than four years into this devastating war, remotely controlled ground robots are fundamentally reshaping the battlefield.
Ukrainian commanders and engineers now say that unmanned ground vehicles represent the next important phase of modern combat.
The future of war has already arrived, they argue, and it moves on rails rather than legs.
A unit built around machines instead of men.
Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade intends to replace approximately 30% of its infantry with unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
“The logic is simple: when the risk to a human being is high, a robot should be used. Because the life of an infantry soldier is priceless and robots do not bleed,” said Mykola Zinkevych, commander of the UGV attack unit “NC13.”
“We are working towards a model in which UGVs take on the most dangerous tasks, while the infantry becomes a highly specialized force focused on what UGVs cannot perform.”
His unit now claims to be the world’s first attack UGV formation operating without any existing military doctrine.
Last year, in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces executed a mission using only drones and ground robots.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described how the Russian occupiers surrendered during an operation in which no infantry was involved in the advance.
“The occupiers surrendered and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” he said.
Logistics and firepower transformed
A modern infantryman can transport approximately 20 kg of equipment at a distance, but logistics UGVs transport 200 to 600 kg to front-line positions.
These machines deliver critical supplies, evacuate wounded troops, hold territorial positions, and destroy enemy shelters.
According to Ukraine’s military chiefs, the increasing use of UGVs has already significantly eased the burden on infantry.
“It’s easier to control an area for 24 hours when you’re sitting in a safe zone 50 km from the UGV, and you can swap with your team and someone else does it,” says Oleg Fedoryshyn, head of research and design at DevDroid.
The average UGV costs the Ukrainian military around $30,000, a figure that rises to $50,000 with a top-mounted Browning machine gun.
Commander Zinkevych estimates that his unit has conducted more than 100 UGV attack operations in recent months.
“During these missions, we have destroyed enemy troops, shelters, command posts and other high-value targets,” he says.
However, he warns that slowing the pace of development is something Ukraine simply cannot allow.
About 10 to 15% of deployed robots are lost in battle, although many are later repaired and returned to service.
Ukrainian forces celebrate these machines as life-saving innovations, but there are concerns that remote warfare could unnecessarily aggravate the scope of the war.
“When we have an instrument that is used for the application of force, operated remotely, there is a risk that the threshold for using force will be lowered,” explained Professor Elke Schwarz, an expert in military technologies at Queen Mary University.
“…and civilian populations are potentially at risk of being hardest hit by the use of force.”
However, he concludes that kyiv develops these tactics out of pure necessity in the face of an existential threat.
It remains an open question whether robots ultimately save lives or simply make war more sustainable.
Independent Way
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