The Russian forces participating in the “Zabad (West) 2021” exercise for the first time used combat robots.
The commander of the Russian Ground Forces, General Oleg Salyukov, confirmed to the Russian Armed Forces newspaper “Krasnaya Zvezda” that the forces participating in the “Zabad 2021” exercise used robotic combat mechanisms devoid of human crews, in addition to the human-led ones, noting that the “Uran-9” mechanisms. And “Nerechta” carried out the task of reconnaissance, intelligence and destruction of the enemy. Robots armed with 30 mm automatic cannon, machine gun and anti-tank guided missiles were able to destroy all targets detected during the training. It was remotely controlled by soldiers who were 1.5 kilometers away.
In response to a question when robots will be integrated into the Russian army, the commander of the Ground Forces stated that 2022 is scheduled to witness an experimental use in the armed forces, and then the number of robots to be purchased to join the ground forces will be determined.
He stated that Russia has started work since 2019 on the “Sturm” and “Suratnik” projects, which include the creation of new combat robots, heavy and medium.