Ukraine is fielding a growing fleet of unmanned ground vehicles to replace soldiers in the most dangerous battlefield roles. But troops may still need to venture closer to the fighting to change batteries, reload ammunition, fix punctures and troubleshoot faults, while some companies send mobile teams to front-line regions to keep robots running.
Ukraine wants to replace as many human soldiers in dangerous missions as possible with robots and drones. Operators can now control some ground robots from tens of kilometres away, which can keep them away from Russian fire. But while the robots can take on firing, intelligence-gathering, equipment carriage and other tasks, troops may still need to be near the front to prepare, launch, maintain and recover them.
Oleksandr Yabchanka, head of robotic systems for Ukraine's Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, said that at present human involvement is both mandatory and indispensable. Someone must swap out batteries, perform maintenance and troubleshoot technical issues. Keeping a robot functional can mean replacing damaged parts, fixing punctured tyres and reloading ammunition.
David Roberts, CEO of ARX Robotics UK, whose company has some robots in Ukraine, said the machines are designed so that it takes literally seconds to swap between a logistics setup, a communications payload or whatever troops need. That flexibility makes it easier to switch missions, but soldiers still have to be close enough to the front to reconfigure the machines.
The autonomy of ground robots is still in the early stages of development, Yabchanka said, and most rely heavily on remote control, which can leave them stranded if something goes wrong. Their dependence on continuous communications can also limit how safely operators can position themselves. Ukrainian UGV maker DevDroid sends mobile teams to front-line regions to perform diagnostics, updates and repairs after several missions.
A similar dynamic plays out with aerial drones. Dmytro “Liber” Zhluktenko, a former drone operator and lessons-learned analyst with Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, said that while some pilots can control drones from hundreds or even thousands of miles away via satellite communications, ground groups still have to attach explosives and launch the aircraft in the area where it is needed.
Ukraine is working to reduce the risks to support crews by improving the range, reliability and off-road mobility of its robots, as well as connectivity. Greater autonomy is a priority: an uncrewed systems unit announced this week that a robot completed a 12-mile supply run almost entirely on its own, which the unit said was the first of its kind under combat conditions. Ukraine is also increasingly using ground robots to recover other ground robots, and companies are designing parts and batteries that can be replaced more quickly. Mykyta Rozhkov, chief business development officer at Ukrainian defence tech company Frontline Robotics, said that more and more systems are getting autonomous features.
Yabchanka said the future of drones and robots lies in the development of autonomy, with software that would let systems perform more functions independently and reduce their reliance on a continuous connection with an operator. He said ground-based robotic systems are becoming an integral part of combat operations for most units deployed along the line of contact.
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- SupportedUkraine is fielding a growing fleet of war robots to take on dangerous missions previously performed by soldiers.All Content from Business Insider: “Ukraine's growing fleet of war robots is taking on dangerous missions once performed by soldiers.”
- SupportedThe robots are intended to replace soldiers in the most dangerous battlefield roles.All Content from Business Insider: “Ukraine's ground robots are designed to replace humans in the most dangerous parts of the battlefield”
- SupportedHuman support crews may still risk their lives to keep the robots running.All Content from Business Insider: “soldiers sometimes still need to risk their lives to keep the machines running.”
- SupportedSome ground-robot operators can control robots from tens of kilometres away.All Content from Business Insider: “operators can now control some war robots from tens of kilometers away”
- SupportedTroops may still need to go closer to the fighting to prepare, launch, maintain and recover robots.All Content from Business Insider: “other troops may still need to venture closer to the fighting to prepare, launch, maintain, and recover them.”
- SupportedOleksandr Yabchanka said human involvement in Ukraine's robotic missions is currently mandatory and indispensable.All Content from Business Insider: “"at present, human involvement is both mandatory and indispensable," Oleksandr Yabchanka, head of the robotic systems for Ukraine's Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, told Business Insider.”
- SupportedKeeping a robot functional can require battery swaps, maintenance, troubleshooting, replacing damaged parts, fixing punctures and reloading ammunition.All Content from Business Insider: “"Someone must swap out batteries, perform maintenance, and troubleshoot technical issues," he said. Keeping a robot functional can mean replacing damaged parts, fixing punctured tires, and reloading ammunition.”
- SupportedDavid Roberts said ARX Robotics' machines can be switched between configurations in seconds, and soldiers still need to be close enough to reconfigure them.All Content from Business Insider: “the company's robots, some of which are in Ukraine, are designed so that it takes "literally seconds" to swap between a logistics setup, a communications payload, or whatever troops want to use it for. That flexibility makes it easier to switch missions, but soldiers still need to be close enough to the front lines to reconfigure the machines.”
- SupportedDevDroid sends mobile teams to units, including front-line regions, to keep its robots working.All Content from Business Insider: “It sends mobile teams out to units, including to front-line regions, to keep robots working.”
- SupportedMost ground robots still rely heavily on remote control, which can leave them stranded if something goes wrong.All Content from Business Insider: “most of the ground robots still rely heavily on remote control rather than navigating and completing missions independently. That can leave them stranded if something goes wrong.”
- SupportedSome drone operators can control drones from hundreds or thousands of miles away, while ground groups still need to prepare, arm and launch aircraft near where they are needed.All Content from Business Insider: “Some drone operators can control their drones from relatively safe locations hundreds or even thousands of miles away, but someone still has to prepare, arm, and launch the aircraft in the area where it's needed.”
- SupportedAn uncrewed systems unit announced that a robot completed a 12-mile supply run almost entirely on its own, which the unit described as the first of its kind under combat conditions.All Content from Business Insider: “An uncrewed systems unit announced this week that a robot had successfully completed a 12-mile supply run almost entirely on its own. The unit said the mission was the "first of its kind under combat conditions."”