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▲ Ukraine's 'Robotic Ground Forces'
Following the aerial drones that have changed the course of the war in Ukraine, ground robots are emerging as a new pillar of future land warfare.
Ground robots are being evaluated as evolving into a new type of military asset in modern warfare, moving beyond supporting roles such as transporting supplies and ammunition or evacuating the wounded to performing defensive missions and even capturing prisoners of war.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on July 13 (local time) that the Ukrainian military is currently operating ground robot units composed of tracked and wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), carrying out thousands of missions every month.
The Ukrainian military plans to produce 50,000 ground robots this year, more than double the production volume of last year.
The primary reason Ukraine is accelerating the development of ground robots is a shortage of manpower.
In a situation where they must preserve their troop numbers, which are smaller than those of Russia, robots are taking over tasks such as logistics, evacuation, and reconnaissance in dangerous areas, thereby increasing the survival rate of soldiers.
A major named Oleksandr, who did not disclose his last name for security reasons, said, "We cannot afford to lose people."
He commands a battalion that operates about 500 troops and 600 ground robots, carrying out an average of 5 to 6 missions per day.
He shared a case where a soldier who lost a leg after stepping on a landmine was rescued by a ground robot.
Although the robot stepped on landmines three times while traveling about 4 km through enemy-occupied territory, it successfully evacuated the wounded soldier to safety.
The role of ground robots is now expanding beyond support missions into the combat domain.
In December 2024, what was effectively the first "all-out unmanned robot assault" took place, in which ground robots equipped with machine guns, flamethrowers, and explosives, along with aerial drones, attacked Russian positions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in April that they had also successfully carried out an operation that captured Russian positions using only ground robots and aerial drones, without exposing a single soldier to direct danger.
There have been cases where armed robots accepted the surrender of Russian troops and escorted prisoners to Ukrainian positions, and a robot equipped with a .50-caliber machine gun defended a position alone for 45 days.
The atmosphere suggests that Ukraine is ahead of not only Russia but also other major militaries around the world in the field of ground robot development.
In particular, unmanned systems for practical use are evolving rapidly as mechanics and infantry on the front lines, rather than software developers, modify and improve the robots based on their direct combat experience.
Oleksiy Honcharuk, chairman of the board of the ground drone manufacturer U-Force and a former prime minister of Ukraine, said, "Drones were able to develop much faster because they were in the hands of creative IT experts," adding, "In contrast, ground robot systems were mainly developed by infantry units on the front lines."
Captain Oleksandr Kharkovets, who ran an automotive electronics repair shop before the war, developed a robot equipped with hooks and a machine gun to recover bodies after experiencing the need to leave his comrades' remains behind when a retreat order was issued in Bakhmut, the site of the fiercest fighting in 2023.
This vehicle was later actually deployed to recover the remains of fallen soldiers that even special forces had been unable to approach for a week.
Sergeant Dmytro Ivanov, who leads a ground robot system platoon, jumped into robot development after his experience as a combat engineer carrying landmines in his backpack for over 14 km.
He said that after the unit secured sufficient unmanned equipment, "We have become able to perform up to 80% of missions, including transport and logistics, without people."
"There is no set tactic in war," Sergeant Ivanov said. "Everything depends on the ability to judge the situation, look one step ahead, and respond with endless improvisation. The battlefield is different every single day."
However, there are also forecasts that it will not be easy for ground robots to become as widely deployed as aerial drones.
The average price of a robot is about 24,000 dollars, which is about twice as expensive as a large transport drone, and limitations have been consistently pointed out, such as poor mobility in rough terrain and the difficulty of making impromptu judgments like humans.
(Photo: Provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
