Fighting robots are already a reality

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Self-driving cars are, of course, good, but all the most advanced technologies are first introduced and tested by mankind in one and the same industry - the industry of war. It will probably be the same with robots: the most perfect samples will first appear in the armies of different countries, and then they will penetrate the civilian sector.

Actually, this process has been going on for a long time, the military just doesn't talk about really advanced developments. But simpler combat robots have already become commonplace.

The simpler ones are not autonomous, but man-controlled. First of all, all kinds of drones that have turned into a symbol of Western democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan come to mind. Air robots are the most advanced today, but ground robots will also play an important role in future wars.

Pioneer robots

In our country, experiments with combat ground-based robotics have been carried out since the 1920s. By the beginning of the war, the Red Army had several dozen teletanks- TT-26 and TU-26. The first were T-26 light flamethrower tanks with remote control equipment. The operator was in the control tank - TU-26 - and could control the teletank at a distance of 0.5-1.5 kilometers. Teletanks were quite successfully used during the Soviet-Finnish war in 1940 to break through fortified areas.

By the way, in the war with Finland, the TT-26 was also used as a self-propelled mine: several hundred kilograms of explosives were loaded onto it, driven to a field fortification and given the command to detonate. However, the most famous - but also too expensive and ineffective - self-propelled mine was the German "Goliath": a tiny tankette, controlled by wires; box with 65-100 kg of dynamite, equipped with an electric motor, battery and tracks.

The development of ground robots was suspended due to the imperfection and unreliability of the control equipment, the need for visual contact, the inconvenience of control over long distances, the risk of losing communication due to the rugged terrain and the ineffectiveness of the radio-controlled tank compared to a conventional tank. The country had many much more important tasks.

Ultralight babies

Years later, the USSR returned to the idea of creating radio-controlled robots, but this did not lead to any significant results. Whatever one may say, it was more efficient, easier and cheaper to use people. But with the development of technology, a change in the vision of future wars and the need to conduct counter-guerrilla warfare in numerous hot spots, combat ground robots have become an increasingly popular type of weapon.

The Americans began to lay the track with their ultralight robots. Today they are actively used throughout the Middle East, playing the role of scouts, sappers and self-propelled machine-gun points. Such robots are equipped with video cameras, night vision devices, laser rangefinders, and manipulators to neutralize mines. Infantry machine guns are most often carried as weapons, although they are equipped with anti-tank missile systems, shotguns, and grenade launchers.

And what of the ultralight class do we have?

Sapper robots

Insectoid name "Praying mantis-3" wears a sapper robot created at the Miass branch of the South Ural State University. "Praying Mantis" can reach a mine on the roof of a minibus or under the bottom of a car with a ground clearance of only 10 cm. Like the "Archer", the sapper robot is able to climb stairs.

By order of the FSB at the Moscow State Technical University. Bauman, a sapper robot was also developed "Varan", which can also be used as a scout.

A short video of how the claw-manipulator drive works: link.

Wheeled robot sapper "All-terrain vehicle-TM5", in addition to the manipulator, it can also carry a water cannon to destroy explosive devices. He is also able to conduct reconnaissance, carry up to 30 kg of cargo, open doors with keys, knock out locks.

"Cobra-1600" is another domestic sapper robot capable of climbing flights of stairs. His tasks are all the same: manipulating objects and video surveillance.

Baumank developed a platform RTOs - in fact, a whole family of ultra-light robots for various purposes: combat, sapper, rescue and reconnaissance.

Among them, the most impressive MRK-46 and MRK-61.

MRK-46:

MRK-61:

True, their great-grandfathers "Mobot-Ch-KhV" and "Mobot-Ch-KhV2" look even more impressive. They were created in 1986 and were intended to work in conditions of a high radioactive background: they removed radioactive debris from the roof of the third block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

"Lethal" robots

Moving on to ultra-light robots carrying weapons.

Machine gun robot "Shooter" intended mainly for urban battles. He is able to climb stairs and help clear buildings. Equipped with three cameras and a Kalashnikov machine gun.

MRK-27-BT

This is not a ram sneezed at you - a tracked platform the size of a large lawnmower carries two Bumblebee jet flamethrowers, two RShG-2 grenade launchers, a Pecheneg machine gun and smoke grenades. This entire arsenal is quick-detachable, that is, the nearby soldiers can borrow its weapon from the robot.

Platform-M

Ultralight combat robots are a good thing, but they have their own niche. A more or less serious battle is too tough for them: the lack of armor and the inability to carry heavier weapons, even a large-caliber machine gun, seriously limit their capabilities and survivability on the battlefield. Therefore, robots of the light-middle class are actively developing in Russia.

First of all it is "Platform-M" … As in the case of the MRK, this is not a specific type of robot, but a whole family of machines built on the basis of a unified tracked chassis. Depending on the installed equipment, "Platform-M" can be a fire support vehicle, scout, patrol and sapper.

Robot weight - up to 800 kg, payload - up to 300 kg, range - up to 1.5 km.

Armament: Kalashnikov machine gun, grenade launcher, ATGM. The armor protects the robot from small arms and small fragments. "Platform-M" is equipped with two electric motors of 6.5 kW, maximum speed - 12 km / h. The batteries are enough for 6-10 hours of driving.

Wolf-2

The robot belongs to the middle class. "Wolf-2" was developed at the Izhevsk radio plant. It is a 980 kg robot powered by a gasoline engine. The maximum speed is 45 km / h, the range is up to 5 km.

Weapon options:

• Kalashnikov machine gun
• Heavy machine gun "Kord" or "Cliff"
• Grenade launcher AG-17A or AG-30/29

"Wolf-2" is equipped with a laser rangefinder, a weapon platform gyro stabilizer, a thermal imager and a ballistic computer. The robot can capture and lead a target, open fire on it both from a place and in motion. There is information that the "Volk-2" will be used to guard the strategic missile systems "Yars" and "Topol-M".

Nerekhta

Foundation for Advanced Research and Plant named after Degtyarev in Kovrov developed the Nerekhta robotic platform. The tracked chassis weighing about 1 ton can be equipped with both weapons and reconnaissance equipment. "Nerekhta" is even capable of playing the role of a conveyor.

There is a variant of an optoelectronic suppression machine: a robot at a distance of up to 5 km is capable of detecting optical means (sights, laser designators, cameras) and, having approached 2 km, blind them with a 4 MW laser pulse.

Reconnaissance and artillery guidance vehicle:

The power plant is hybrid - diesel + electric motors. The diesel engine also charges the batteries, and if necessary "Nerekhta" can travel up to 20 km only on electric traction. The maximum speed is 32 km / h.

Weapon options: Kalashnikov machine gun, Kord heavy machine gun.

And the robot "Nerekhta-2" is about to appear with AI elements and a new type of ammunition to defeat hidden targets.

Companion

One of our most recent developments in the field of combat robots. Companion was developed by the Kalashnikov concern and belongs to the middle class. Capable of performing reconnaissance, patrolling, and defensive missions. "Companion" knows how to operate in conjunction with a drone. The maximum target detection range is 2.5 km.

The total weight of the car with all the bells and whistles can reach 7 tons. The maximum speed is 40 km / h, the range is up to 10 km.

Armament: Kalashnikov machine gun, heavy machine gun, AG-17A grenade launcher, up to eight Kornet-E ATGMs.

This robot appeared in a fresh program about the actions of the Special Operations Forces in Syria (5:20):

Family "Uranus"

Ten-ton "Uran-9" armed on the principle "you can't spoil porridge with butter":

• 30mm automatic cannon 2A72 (also installed on BMP-2)
• Kalashnikov machine gun
• ATGM "Attack" (or MANPADS "Igla")
• Rocket-propelled flamethrowers "Bumblebee"

The robot is equipped with everything necessary for the timely detection and destruction of the enemy: a laser rangefinder, a thermal imager, a laser warning system, a smoke screen system.

The range is up to 8 km. Here is a video about it (it is played normally, there is an error in the preview picture):

"Uran-6" is an engineering and sapper robot. It can be equipped with a dozer blade, striker, milling or roller trawls for mine clearance. This is especially true for clearing areas where hostilities were previously fought, after which many mines and unexploded ordnance remain. Able to withstand an explosion of up to 60 kg of TNT. Moreover, "Uran-6" is not just stupidly rolling in the hope of causing a detonation: it is equipped with equipment that makes it possible to determine the types of explosive devices - mines, shells, bombs.

Weight - 6 tons, range - up to 1 km.

"Uran-14" - the largest and heaviest of the "Uranus". True, its purpose is not combat, this machine was created to extinguish fires. But if necessary, it can also be used to clear debris and barricades in combat zones. Uran-14 is equipped with a fire pump, a tank for water and a foaming agent.

Engine power - 240 hp sec., weight - 14 tons, maximum speed - 12 km / h.

Surely this is not a complete list of Russian developments. But that's why she and the army - the military try not to advertise their new products. All of the robots described above are controlled by humans, but there is no doubt that the development of artificial intelligence will lead to the emergence of fully autonomous machines, which a person will need only for maintenance.

By the way, the T-14 "Armata" tank, as far as we know, can be controlled completely remotely in the future, which means it will become a super-heavy combat robot. And if it is equipped with AI, then all that remains is to say "oh".