The Ukrainian-made D-21-12R ground robotic system has been approved for military use, the Defense Ministry announced on April 7.
Equipped with a large-caliber machine gun, the robot is capable of conducting surveillance, patrolling, providing fire support to the Ukrainian military, and targeting Russian lightly armored vehicles, the statement read.
It has high cross-country ability in off-road terrain, mud and shallow water and can be operated remotely from a protected shelter, the ministry added.
Throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, both Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in unmanned vehicles, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, revolutionizing warfare.
Ukraine is increasing the production of unmanned ground systems and deploying full-fledged robotic units as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' combat brigades on the front line.
In December, the Ukrainian military claimed troops had successfully attacked Russian positions in Kharkiv Oblast using only ground and first person view (FPV) drones instead of infantry for the first time.
Unmanned ground systems have proven to perform several tasks on the battlefield, including offensive and defensive activities, evacuation of the wounded, logistical support for units, and mining and demining areas, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in February.
David Kirichenko
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