Moscow is testing a new ground drone, according to Russian state media which reported that the uncrewed vehicle could then be rolled out across the front lines in Ukraine.
“Testing of the Zubilo unmanned platform will begin in several military units of the Russian Armed Forces in April,” JSC Remdizel, the drone’s manufacturer, said, per Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Over two years of war in Ukraine has prompted both Moscow and Kyiv to invest heavily in uncrewed vehicles, most prominently in the air, but also on the ground and water. Russia and Ukraine are both using ground drones in their war efforts, designed to keep soldiers further away from hostilities with the uncrewed vehicles taking on dangerous missions.
A version of the Zubilo was debuted at a military expo in 2023. The new model, however, was “modified” to reduce the ground drone’s weight and increase its maneuverability, the state news outlet said earlier this week, citing Remdizel.
RIA Novosti / Alexey Mayshev
The main purpose of this unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is likely to be logistics, despite the guns mounted on the new ground drones, said Samuel Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.
“Many small UGVs operating at the front today are carrying out logistics missions, so this is probably how this UGV will be tested and potentially applied in battle,” he told Newsweek.
The Zubilo is mounted on a truck chassis, and is “designed to support assault groups, transport ammunition, transport cargo and wounded people, as well as recharge radio stations and quadcopters,” RIA Novosti reported.
It is not yet clear how many of the UGVs will be manufactured and then delivered to Russia’s armed forces, Bendett said. Russia’s Defense Ministry has previously announced that other UGV designs are being tested, but there has been no evidence of them in combat yet, Bendett said.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Remdizel’s chief designer, Igor Zarakhovich, said that the ground drone could be mass-produced to “minimize human participation in battles in dangerous sectors of the front,” according to state media.
Russia has developed other types of ground drones designated for use in Ukraine, including the AI-enabled “Marker” combat robot. Ukraine, too, is forging ahead with developing UGVs.
“We are witnessing a similar pattern on both sides when it comes to UGV developments,” Bendett previously told Newsweek.
In mid-September 2023, Ukraine’s drone tsar and digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said Ukraine was testing its “Ironclad” unmanned robot in combat missions on the frontlines.
It is equipped with a machine gun, or robotic combat turret, and is designed to help assault enemy positions, conduct reconnaissance missions and provide fire support, Fedorov said. It can reportedly travel at a speed of up to 12 miles per hour.
At the start of 2024, Ukraine’s ground forces said its 5th Separate Assault Brigade was using a ground-based combat drone to target Russian positions.
“The fantastic future has already arrived,” a statement from the Ukrainian military said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.