Russian Army Robots

You need to remember for dug in troops these platforms are useful for bringing in ammo and food and water etc, and when operating on foot would be rather good for providing fire support, but most of these units will also have a BMP or BTR to support them as well, so this is essentially saying to a light infantry platoon that the machine gun guy operates a remote control and does not have to carry the machine gun and can now take thousands of rounds of ready to fire ammo with it and provide support.

The next generation of Ratnik has goggles with VR and video capability so mounting decent stabilised night and all weather optics on this gun mount means the gunner can hunker down somewhere and position his gun where he has good overwatch and he can deliver accurate long range fire and high volume fire when needed. A sniper and rocket launching version would be useful for engaging key enemy personnel and enemy armour and fortified positions respectively. these days some sort of air defence model for use against drones for troops in the field and in trench lines would be useful too I suspect.

GarryB wrote:You need to remember for dug in troops these platforms are useful for bringing in ammo and food and water etc.

Exactly what I said Kurer was good for, my point was that is is not a good combat vehicle.

New robot unmanned artillery vehicle armed with a D-30 122mm gun.

I wonder if this is system that is ment to be air dropped along with a crew in hard to reach areas, where vehicle is controlled by the crew up steep passes, in mountainous areas, then ammo is air dropped in. And the crew do all the firing and handy work. This would obviously be easier than trying to do it with a towed gun or an armoured SP gun system. So I think the media has picked this up wrong. Because this wouldn't make sense to be a fully unmanned robot going into dangerous areas or areas that are contaminated. The whole of robots is to reduce the risk to humans in the above situations.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has released the first footage of its crewless howitzer prototype, known as the Klever, showcasing the system’s gunfire tests.

The footage, shared by TV Zvezda, reveals the Russian military’s latest efforts to advance its artillery capabilities through automation and robotics.

The Klever, a 122mm howitzer mounted on a robotic tracked platform, is presented as an innovative artillery system designed to fire remotely without risking the lives of its operators. The howitzer features an automated loading system capable of handling four rounds, theoretically allowing it to emerge from cover, fire its rounds, and retreat to safety autonomously.

However, the release of detailed images of the prototype has raised questions about the system’s true capabilities. Observers have noted that the Klever lacks the ability to aim the howitzer remotely. This limitation means that after moving to a firing position, the gun crew must manually aim the howitzer, adjust it after each shot, and make any necessary corrections. Contrary to initial claims, the system cannot fire without direct human intervention.

Essentially, the Klever is a robotic platform equipped with a Soviet-era D-30 howitzer, rather than a fully autonomous, crewless artillery system as originally promoted.

The development of such systems comes at a time when modern warfare increasingly emphasizes reducing human exposure to battlefield dangers, particularly in counter-battery scenarios where quick retaliation can be lethal.

https://defence-blog.com/russia-tests-new-crewless-howitzer-prototype/?amp




Link to a video
https://x.com/PopsicleProtect/status/1827714553460961706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1827714553460961706%7Ctwgr%5E232054df4a9f44e85e19b6095f5ef2a14f0f4f48%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-19566613993442458390.ampproject.net%2F2406131415000%2Fframe.html

Already posted on previous page.

This moves at about 12km per hour and is essentially a towed D-30 gun with a four round autoloader so the crew load four rounds into the autoloader and then drive the gun up to 500m away from their position and can fire all four rounds and then drive the gun to cover somewhere else where they will likely meet it with another four rounds which they can then drive to a firing position and fire again.

The thing is that when it fires and moves it is unmanned so if it gets caught in counter battery fire you just lose the gun and not the crew....

A mobility improvement for a towed gun.

I suspect the autoloader allows it to fire faster than manually firing it so it can fire off four rounds and then go hide and when the crew are sure there are no drones they can approach the gun and reload its autoloader and move it to another position to fire again unmanned.

An interesting video that talks about the practical use of ground drones that can be sent on night attack missions where its lack of heat signature with no combustion engine makes it hard to detect day or night with thermal sights. It can be fitted with machine guns and sent to flank an enemy position... even if it gets taken out it creates a path you can walk with infantry where you know there are no land mines.

You can also use it as part of an attack where it approaches the enemy position from one side while you attack from another... etc etc.

And it s cheap and simple to repair and use.

IMO better here than the Ukraine thread

The US delivered robot dogs as ideal robots for moving over rough terrain, but they are not super fast.

The Chinese have taken the idea of the dog drone and added wheels to make them fast too...