The war between Moscow and kyiv has highlighted a type of vehicle that has so far gone relatively unnoticed: ground drones. The Spanish Ministry of Defense has some units assigned to the army for detection missions and others within the EMU to help in the event of natural disasters and fires. On the other hand, the Ukrainian military industry has just presented a Significantly more advanced attack platform called Protector.
Ukrainian company Armor presented the Protector remotely operated surface robot (UGV) for the first time at the MSPO defense industry exhibition in Poland, according to a statement. “Safely Executing Dangerous Missions this is the ideology of creating the platform,” as Vladislav Belbas, CEO of Ukrainian Armor, said.
“As we worked on this new brand for the development of our company, we were able to see the experience of the military on the front lines and working with unmanned ground platforms,” he said. “This robot is designed to increase safety and operational efficiency of soldiers on the battlefield.
armed robot
These types of vehicles represent a paradigm shift in military operations on the ground. The most modern platforms integrate all types of on-board sensors dedicated to the detection, among other things, of improvised explosive devices or mines. In addition, they also serve as attack and defense vehicles by integrating different types of weapons – from simple machine guns to missiles – which are used to execute the most risky missions.
“We are prioritizing the Protector as a logistics platform,” Belbas said. “But it can also be used as a reconnaissance robot, to transport and launch drones from a dangerous locationevacuation of the wounded, movement of goods and ammunition.
UGV Protector on the exhibition stand where it was presented
He also explained that it was possible use the UGV as a “combat robot”. This is achieved by incorporating “lethal weapons” in order to destroy the enemy’s protection and shielding technology. Another point emphasized by Belbas during the vehicle presentation is that it is a “low-cost platform with the ability to be manufactured quickly.”
As an example, the company showed several Protector units equipped with a wide range of accessories such as front shovels for clearing a path through complicated areas, various types of weapon stations, launchers anti-tank missiles and even an electronic warfare system.
Omicrono
The declared range of action of the Ukrainian armor is 15 kilometers conditioned by communications coverage from the command and control post. However, a drone can be used as a repeater and boost it up to an undisclosed limit. The specifications also state that the UGV is integrated with the ICoMWare warfare ecosystem that provides situational awareness to deployed troops through different real-time information sources.
The combat weight reaches 4,000 kilograms with a maximum speed of 60 km/h on terrain, while the minimum driving speed is 5 km/h. It also has level 1 kinetic protectionwhich gives it a certain degree of resistance to light attacks.
UGV Protector with missile launcher
The engine produces 190 horsepower with an average consumption of 12 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers. It measures 5.2 meters long by 1.87 wide and 1.45 high; provide him good off-road capabilities.
Varta 2
At the same show and with a design similar to the Protector, the Ukrainian Armor also presented the Varta 2 armored vehicle. This is the second generation of the vehicle in which they integrate new protection, mobility and firepower features to adapt to current combat environments.
“The Varta 2 is a completely new machine developed based on the company’s ten years of experience, the needs of the military and the conditions of modern warfare“, said Vladyslav Belbas.
This armored vehicle, which the company describes as a “mobile fortress”, weighs 14 tonnes (3.5 less than the first generation) and nevertheless benefits from better protection against kinetic projectiles and land mines. The standard in this case is higher than that of the Protector, guarantee the safety of the 10 crew members it can carry on board.
Concerning weapons, the the big news is the Sich remote-controlled weapons stationwhich has a 30mm automatic cannon, a 7.62mm secondary machine gun and a smoke grenade launcher. This modern turret has a rotation of 360° and a vertical elevation of -10° to +60°. For its control, it has an integrated optical and thermal aiming system with laser rangefinder.
Furthermore, this new Ukrainian armored vehicle also joins the ICOMWare ecosystem for better situational awareness thanks to a mesh of sensors. As detailed Army recognitionthe vehicle also “integrates reconnaissance drones with a range of up to 30 km,” which connect to ICOMWare and provide an additional layer of security and threat detection.
