Ukraine turns to drones and robots for battlefield survival
The war in Ukraine is the first modern conflict in decades where both sides have roughly comparable capabilities. The widespread use of drones, including those resistant to jamming, has made conventional methods of evacuating the wounded very problematic, if not impossible. Here's how the Ukrainians are trying to cope.
The Ukrainians are attempting to counter the numerical advantage of the Russians and their own shortages of personnel and equipment with various types of drones. In addition to strike models, transport versions have also been developed, which can ultimately be used for medical transport.
A notable instance was described by the Militarnyj portal, where soldiers from the 13th National Guard Brigade, somewhere north of Kharkiv, conducted the evacuation of a wounded person using a remote-controlled rover. The evacuation route one way was 7 miles, which, unfortunately, is the norm due to FPV drones controlled by deployed fiber optics with a range of 9 to 12 miles.
They create a death zone in which any detected vehicle is attacked. Civilian vehicles are defenseless, and vehicles like MRAPs or wheeled armored personnel carriers like the BTR-4, or similar ones that can survive FPV drone hits, are becoming less numerous and more valuable.
Robots as transport for the wounded — necessary but unproven desperation
In an interview with Militarnyj, a soldier using the codename "Mathematician," who leads the NRC Brigade "Karta," explained that using robots to evacuate the wounded is considered a last-ditch option. According to him and many others in the field, such technology is only employed when no safer alternatives are available, as the current level of reliability remains limited. Each mission involving these machines is carried out under intense pressure and concentration.
The soldier believes that current robotic systems resemble FPV drones from 2023 in terms of their developmental stage—complex, yet not fully suited for medical evacuation tasks. He emphasizes that this kind of equipment should be specifically designed for such missions, rather than serving as standard logistical tools. Expectations for their performance are much higher, requiring a significantly higher level of preparedness and specialization.
Nonetheless, "Mathematician" highlights that even in their current state, land robots significantly increase the chances of military survival and enhance the army's combat capabilities. "Every robot on the battlefield can potentially save a life. In this case, a saved life is not only the soldier who was wounded but also the entire evacuation group risking their own lives to save the wounded."
Land robots in Ukraine
The Ukrainians received Estonian THeMIS robots, which inspired the creation of simpler rovers capable of carrying dozens or even hundreds of pounds of cargo over a distance of 6 miles or more.
Communication with the control station is carried out via deployed fiber optics, often protected from mud by an empty water bottle. This is the simplest method to ensure communication resistant to electronic warfare systems because the only way to stop such a drone or rover is by physically destroying it.
The rover allows for discreet movement of supplies from a logistics point to a point of resistance because it is less visible in thermography and easier to hide than a person or full-sized vehicle. Unsurprisingly, they are also used in critical situations for evacuating the wounded.
