Nowadays, ground-based robotic systems on the battlefield are not as popular as aerial drones, but nonetheless, hundreds of wheeled and tracked robots have been purchased for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with many already effectively utilized on the battlefields.
Most are made domestically, but Western-supplied systems are present as well: the Estonian THeMIS unmanned multirole platform is a well-known example, but more new interesting developments have been presented over the past few years that could be useful to Ukrainian forces while also benefiting the developers as a trial by fire in real combat conditions.
Read more: Gamepad Controller Was a Great Idea: German Tests of Tytan, the Interceptor of Shahed Drones Deployed in Ukraine (Video)
Late 2024, the German company Rheinmetall announced successful tests of a system from its Canadian branch: a short-range air defense system based on the Mission Master XT unmanned platform. It is armed with a Rheinmetall Fieldranger Multi remotely controlled weapon station with two Dillon Aero M134D miniguns, a radar, a target tracking system based on artificial intelligence, and more utilities. The declared range is 50 to 800 meters.
A similar counter-UAS system was demonstrated by the French company Soframe earlier in November. The basis was the 4×4 wheeled HE 441 all-terrain vehicle, either remotely operated or fully autonomous. This unmanned ground vehicle's selling points are smooth operation on difficult terrain, robust design, and modularity, making it flexible in various missions.
But the most interesting part is that this UGV was marketed mainly as a mobile air defense tool specifically against aerial drones. To excel in this task, the robot is equipped with a HELMA-P laser weapon manufactured by Cilas, a French company and a subsidiary of the Ariane Group, specializing in laser and optical technologies.
According to the manufacturer, HELMA-P is capable of detecting, identifying, tracking and neutralising an agile target "with surgical precision" and at "zero firing cost." Moreover, the array of potential targets includes aerial and ground drones, radars, IEDs, missiles, artillery rounds, and mortar shells.
Read more: The Defense Forces of Ukraine Attacked Over 54,000 russian Targets with Drones in December – CinC Syrskyi
