Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and throughout the first months of the conflict, several ground drone programs have emerged as part of the most complex military operations. This type of platform, also present in Spain, presents significant advantages from an operational point of view; how is this possible avoid endangering deployed military personnel.
Continuing along this same path, Ukraine has just demonstrated remote-controlled robot with advanced technology called Lyut (Fury, in Spanish). The video in which it was first seen was posted on social media by the 8th Separate Special Operations Regiment and shows a successful assault operation in which the ground robot plays an important role.
“The times are changing and so are the methods of war,” they emphasize in the description that accompanies the video on Telegram. “A complex raid against enemy positions using a ground robotic complexFPV [referenciando a que se controla en primera persona] and a mortar. The result, as they continue, was that “a part of the enemy was destroyed and the rest fled.”
Special Operations Robot
The Ukrainian armed forces introduced the Fury into their ranks last May. This is an UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) specially designed to carry out the most complex and risky military missions.
The project was launched in response to a official request for the creation of a military robot ready to serve on the battlefieldwhich has conditioned the design of the platform from the first moment. The knowledge acquired from the initial prototype produced in fall 2022, highlights Army recognitioncontributed significantly to “refining the Luyt and promoting innovation in the field of Ukrainian military robotics.”
After carrying out an internal testing period with exhaustive reviews, resolving the problems inherent to this type of process and creating the necessary documentation, Lyut went from a concept to an industrial prototype suitable for mass production.
Her shooting accuracymaneuverability, battery life and communications effectiveness in real war situations are just some of the factors evaluated by Ukrainian engineers.
The platform has four-wheel drive and incorporates a machine gun. In addition to attack tasks, it can also conduct decoy operations to deceive enemy troops and precisely locate their positions, according to Interesting engineering.
In this way, the terrestrial drone manages to establish communication with its controller up to 700 meters in case of terrain with obstacles and up to 2 kilometers in case of direct vision. The aiming cameras of its weapon system allow it to attack targets at a distance of up to 800 meters with sufficient precision.
As shown in Army recognitionwhen the Fury integrates with Ukrainian electronic warfare systems Bukoveldemonstrates effective operational capability within a radius of 700 meters from the protection unit. This ensures that the ground drone operates more safely thanks to the aerial cover of Bukovel, which is responsible for keeping Russian drones away.
“The robot Fury attacks Russian positions and covers our defenders during the assault,” wrote Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Innovation, last May. “The military appreciated its ease of control and highlighted the robot’s high level of radio and video communication, as well as its good vision and automatic fire every day. and the night.
The combat work of the Ukrainian ground drone on the front line. pic.twitter.com/NPJS36h6rY
— Kherson special cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) September 19, 2024
As for the weapon incorporated on board, it is a 7.62 mm PKT machine gunone of the most used in Ukraine and which allows you to attack units on foot and unarmored vehicles. “With the help of Lyut, the army is safe,” Fedorov noted. “It can also be used in defense as a mobile firing point that can move throughout the position, fire from multiple points, or serve as an observation post.”
The Russian version
Almost at the same time as Ukraine was completing evaluation work on the Lyut, Russia was showing the world its particular version of a ground-based drone intended for military operations. Under the name Buggy, it is a robot kamikaze loaded with explosives which makes them explode once it hits the target.
#BREAKING Russia claims to have produced the world’s first land-based kamikaze vehicle.
Robots to join forces with humans in battle against Ukrainian troops.
In a revolutionary move, Russia is preparing to deploy robots armed with machine guns on the front line against the Ukrainian army. pic.twitter.com/HxrBO2Fcxd
– War Intel (@warintel4u) June 2, 2024
In addition, the manufacturer designed the platform to be capable of perform a wide variety of combat and logistical tasks. It can be used to quickly and discreetly deliver supplies, ammunition and fuel to Russian troops. This would even make it possible to evacuate wounded soldiers on the front, as detailed by the conglomerate in a press release.
It could also be used on the battlefield to carry out attacks against enemy personnel and fortifications, such as forts, bunkers, fortified gunpoints and fortresses; and even used to destroy minefields provide a safe path for Russian troops during the conflict. However, Rostec emphasizes that one of Depesha’s main functions is to become a suicide ground drone, created to detonate an explosive charge when it hits its target.
Concerning the design of this kamikaze land drone, it should be noted that it rides on a tracked platform and that it is controlled by an operator using a gamepad and a headset to control it in first person. For its part, the Buggy model is actually a wheeled platform that is also controlled by a joystick, but in this case a tablet is used instead of a viewer.
