The defense company Ukrainian Armor is adapting its Protector UGV, the largest robotic ground platform developed in Ukraine, for air defense missions. The company announced this on its social media pages.
Ukrainian Armor specialists are already testing laser weapon integration on the Protector UGV following last year's announcement of plans to arm the platform with such systems. The company also plans to adapt the vehicle for launching interceptor drones.
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No details have been released yet, including what kind of laser weapons might be mounted on it.
Recently, Celebra Tech unveiled a new version of its Tryzub laser system, which the company says is already capable of shooting down drones in flight. These include FPV drones, which it can destroy at distances of 800–900 meters, as well as long-range Shahed drones at ranges of up to five km.
As the company emphasizes, this is not a concept or a prototype, but a solution that is already ready for mass production. The weight of the Tryzub system has not been disclosed, but the Protector UGV has a payload capacity of up to 700 kg. However, it is still unclear which specific system Ukrainian Armor has chosen for its armored vehicle.
As for interceptor drones, the details are also unknown at this time. As of today, several solutions from different Ukrainian companies are already available. However, given that Ukrainian Armor already has and is actively developing its own line of drones—starting with the high-precision UB60D FPV—it is possible that the National Guard of Ukraine could eventually be equipped with its own anti-aircraft drone solution.
It is likely that the company will develop the launch systems for them in-house. At present, UGV-based platforms are not yet widely deployed on the battlefield, leaving uncertainty about how such a solution, especially when integrated with anti-aircraft drones or laser weapons, will perform in combat conditions.
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