A Russian state firm recently tested a pair of kamikaze ground robots in the Ukraine war.
High Precision Complexes Holding’s Depesha and Buggy unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are designed for tasks such as supplying provisions, fuel, and ammunition.
Additionally, they can perform medical evacuation with a load carrying capacity of 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and 250 kilograms (550 pounds), respectively.
‘World’s First’ Kamikaze UGV
More importantly, the vehicles can also be rigged with explosives and sent toward enemy positions to take out personnel, fortifications such as pillboxes, bunkers, fortified firing points, and strongholds.
“This ‘cart’ has already been tested in the special operation area during an assault on an enemy stronghold when it was turned into a kamikaze vehicle,” Russian state-controlled TASS quoted a source as saying.
According to RIA Novosti, the “world’s first” kamikaze UGV could be employed to clear “dragon teeth” type obstacles that hinder the movement of tanks and armored vehicles.
The tracked Depesha is controlled through a joystick and an FPV (first person view) helmet, while the wheeled Buggy can be controlled both though a joystick and a tablet.
Ukraine Deployment
While the Russians announced testing the kamikaze UGVs, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in April reported deploying an explosive-laden UGV to strike Russian trenches.
More recently, Ukraine’s digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov reportedly said that a Ukrainian kamikaze UGV earlier this month helped Ukrainian fighters blast a bridge in the eastern Donetsk region being used by the Russians for logistics.
Moreover, Ukraine’s fundraising platform United24 announced plans in March to mass produce hundreds of ground robots in the coming months.
