Russia To Introduce Combat Robot Prototypes In Two Years
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Russia is moving forward with its plans to automize its army and to develop unmanned and autonomous battle vehicles, and the Russian weapons industry is more than happy to oblige.
A Russian machine building company plans to introduce test models of new combat robots in the next two years, the Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) deputy chief executive, Vyacheslav Khalitov, said.
“We will be able to show prototypes in 1.5 to 2 years. We are gradually moving away from crewed machines,” he was quoted as saying by Sputnik.
Khalitov named the Armata T-14 tank, built by UVZ, as an example of the manufacturer’s efforts to do away with piloted military technology, promising to reduce its crew numbers from three to two.
The T-14 Armata is a Russian 5th generation main battle tank based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform. Even though unit costs are a concern, the Russian army plans to acquire 2,300 T-14s within next five years.
The Russian Defense Ministry unveiled the Armata at the May 9 Victory Day military parade in Moscow. The tank is housed in an armored capsule at the front with a main armament of a 125 mm smoothbore cannon and a 7.62 mm remote-control machine gun.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said earlier the tank has courted “serious potential buyers from Arab countries.”
In May, Khalitov said that the tank could serve in the Russian Armed Forces until the end of the 21st century.
