The growing role of fighting robots on the ground in Ukraine

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the fighting. Both sides pummel the enemy with cheap kamikaze models and use long-range craft to strike targets far from the front lines. In the Black Sea Ukrainian naval drones have helped to inflict serious damage on Russia’s fleet.

But so far, ground robots have featured little in the conflict. Is that about to change?Military robots operated by remote control are known as Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGVs). The earliest model was the Soviet Teletank, used during the invasion of Finland from 1939.

The Russians fitted obsolete light tanks with crude radio-controlled steering and flamethrowers to attack fortifications. The tanks had no camera, so an operator had to be positioned nearby. The technology proved unreliable and the experiment was soon abandoned.Read more of our recent coverage of the Ukraine warBut armed forces did not give up on the idea.

Since the 1970s UGVs have been used for bomb disposal. Building a remotely operated fighting machine, however, has proved difficult. Navigation is a problem.

Today’s drones can easily steer themselves, but on the ground automated driving is still hard, even on well-marked roads: machines often struggle to interpret simple obstacles such as potholes. This means that if UGVs lose contact with an operator they can get lost or stuck, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Russia deployed a small robotic tank, Uran-9, in Syria, reportedly in 2017—but it suffered communication problems, and has not been seen since.Most UGVs are expensive.