Ukraine’s Third Army Corps expands use of ground drones
Ukraine’s Third Army Corps is expanding the use of unmanned ground systems at the front to deliver ammunition, evacuate the wounded and carry out combat tasks near the positions of the troops of aggressor state Russia. At a workshop in the Kharkiv region, fighters from the NC13 unit are preparing four-wheeled Hyena vehicles for use; they can deliver explosives to enemy shelters, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing a Reuters report.
Robots for logistics and combat
According to a military mechanic with the call sign Khymera, similar ground drones have already captured Russian servicemen. He also emphasized the 20 kilograms of explosives with which such vehicles can be equipped.
The Third Army Corps’ workshops operate along the 1,200-kilometer front line. Unmanned ground systems are part of the Ukrainian forces’ strategy to reduce risks for military personnel on a battlefield saturated with aerial drones. In June, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that ground robots had carried out more than 50,000 logistics and evacuation missions since the beginning of the year.
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NC13 operators use the vehicles almost every day. As the deputy commander with the call sign Bar said, during one operation, three bombs were loaded onto a trailer, which a ground drone delivered to a bridge used by the enemy for logistics, after which the bridge was blown up. In another operation, a robot with a machine gun held back an enemy assault while kamikaze drones operated from above.
Plan to replace part of the infantry
Commander of the Third Army Corps, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi, called the gradual replacement of infantrymen with ground robots the next revolution in warfare. The corps plans to replace about one-third of military personnel on the front line with such systems by the end of the year.
At the same time, Bar noted that the systems have limitations: they struggle to overcome physical obstacles, cannot clear buildings or trenches like an infantry unit, and their production does not yet allow them to be used in swarms, similar to aerial drones. However, these vehicles are already carrying out dangerous tasks for which people were previously deployed.
