UKRAINE has deployed an all-robot assault force to the battlefield for the first time to attack Russian troops.
The deadly tech, including ground and flying drones, was launched in Kharkiv by a Ukrainian national guard brigade.
The all-robot combined-arms operation in northern Ukraine involved remote-controlled flying surveillance and minelaying drones.
It also included one-way explosive robots on the ground and in the air as well as gun-armed ground ’bots, according to Forbes.
Footage shows a ground robot on a tracked platform equipped with a Browning 12.7 mm machine gun.
An official from the 13th National Guard Brigade mentioned: “Several units of robotic and unmanned equipment will be deployed at the same time in a limited area of the front line.”
While precise details of the weapons are not known, it is not the first time Ukraine has deployed killer tech causing devastation across the frontline.
Earlier this month Kyiv’s “Sea Baby” marine drones were seen pounding Putin’s helicopters and Su-30SM warplanes in a battle in Kerch Bay.
Dramatic footage shows the drones using onboard machine guns in Ukraine‘s December attack close to the Crimean Bridge.
Footage released in October shows the Sea Baby drones firing rockets targeting positions in the Russian-occupied areas of Kinburn Spit.
With a range of up to 1,000km, these advanced drones can be seen hitting long-range targets with accuracy while defending themselves from being damaged by enemy attacks.
On July 17, 2023, two Sea Baby USVs were used to strike the Crimean Bridge and were successful in damaging it.
Another powerful weapon in Ukraine’s robot arsenal is the deadly dragon drone.
Terrifying footage from last week shows the drone spewing lethal thermite across a trench and into the entrance of a Russian bunker.
Anyone caught underneath the iron oxide and aluminium combination would be burned to death.
Video has previously captured one dragon drone spewing a stream of thermite across a Russian-held treeline.
A fiery reaction is set off when ignited, producing scorching hot molten iron that burns at 2,500 degrees – strong enough to melt through steel.
And earlier this year Ukraine used the “Honey Badger” to blow up a bridge to prevent Russian troops from advancing.
Footage shows the kamikaze land drone, approaching the bridge before spectacularly exploding and tearing the bridge apart.
Previously Ukraine was set to unleash robotic dogs in the war to replace soldiers in dangerous missions on the frontline.
A demonstration in an undisclosed location showed the bots, known as BAD One, following commands from operators including standing up, crouching, running, and jumping.
The robots sit low to the ground, making them difficult to detect, and have a battery life of up to two hours.
They can carry up to 7kg of ammunition or medical supplies.
The use of military technology has rapidly evolved throughout the war.
Earlier this month a senior government minister said Ukraine will need thousands of uncrewed robotic ground vehicles next year to shuttle ammunition and supplies to infantry in the trenches and evacuate wounded soldiers.
The buggy-like vehicles, an example of how technology is transforming trench warfare in Ukraine, would spare troops from operating in areas near the front where Russian shelling and drones are rife, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
“This year we purchased several thousand ground platforms, and next year, I believe, we need tens of thousands,” the minister said.
The vehicles, he said, are already being used along the front and in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv’s troops carved out an enclave in an August incursion. Ukraine has several training centres to teach their use, he added.
