During the application in Syria in real combat conditions, the Russian multi-functional combat robot "Uran-9" was identified with a number of shortcomings. This was reported by the RIA Novosti agency with reference to the report of the third central research institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Among other things, military experts highlight shortcomings and shortcomings in the mobility, firepower, control, observation and reconnaissance functions of a combat robot.
In addition, when Uranus moved independently, low reliability of its chassis was revealed: guide and road wheels, as well as suspension springs. The operation of the installed 30-mm automatic cannon turned out to be unstable, untimely triggering of the launch circuits, and the failure of the thermal imaging channel of the optical sighting station were recorded. Also, experts call the inability to fire on the move as a very big disadvantage of the Uran-9 combat robot. As follows from the materials presented, the robot is able to conduct reconnaissance and identify targets at a distance of no more than two kilometers. Also, the military has complaints about sights, observation devices and screens of operators who control a robotic combat complex.
Already existing combat robots are proposed to be used in the assault on fortified areas and various enemy targets, as well as for the destruction of fire and armored targets in cooperation with melee weapons, combined arms and engineering units. At the same time, the report of the Russian military emphasizes that in the next 10-15 years, robotic systems will not be able to perform tasks in combat conditions.
Combat multifunctional robotic complex "Uran-9", photo 766uptk.ru
The military observer of the Regnum news agency Leonid Nersisyan believes that in order for combat robots, such as the Russian Uran-9, to be sufficiently effective in a combined-arms battle, humanity still lacks technology. The ineffectiveness of the Russian novelty in the framework of a combined arms battle does not cause much surprise, for the reason that it was clear to the experts before: many more years of research, testing and development are required in order to bring such complexes to the necessary conditions that will allow them to participate in combat in one along with ordinary military formations.
Western experts, nevertheless, believe that today there are no more successes than Russia in the field of creating combat robots in the West. Accordingly, at the moment, combat robots can be used quite effectively to solve a number of tasks, among which, first of all, work on demining the area, in some cases - the implementation of the protection of any objects.
Under certain conditions, combat robots can be used to assault enemy positions. However, they are not yet capable of participating in a full-fledged combined-arms battle. There are communication problems, as well as with the reaction of robots to a changing environment (reaction is low). Quite a long time passes from the moment the operator of the combat robot makes a decision until the robot fulfills these instructions. Besides this, there are other problems. In order for the effectiveness of combat robots to increase, it is necessary to further develop artificial intelligence technologies so that robots have more autonomy in their actions. But there are no such technologies yet, says Leonid Nersisyan.
Combat multifunctional robotic complex "Uran-9" was created by specialists of JSC "766 UPTK" (766 Department of production and technological equipment) from Nakhabino (Moscow region). The combat multifunctional robotic complex includes 4 robots for reconnaissance and fire support "Uran-9", a mobile command post (one unit), a set of transportation and support equipment, as well as a set of spare parts and necessary accessories.
Mobile control post, photo 766uptk.ru
Combat robot "Uran-9" is a remotely controlled tracked vehicle that belongs to the category of ground combat unmanned vehicles. The robot is able to conduct engineering reconnaissance of the terrain and hit various types of targets: both ground and low-flying air targets.
Outwardly, this formidable ground-based drone resembles a small-sized tracked armored personnel carrier with a tower in which its main strike armament is located, including a 30-mm 2A72 automatic cannon and a 7.62-mm machine gun paired with it. The missile armament of the Uran-9 drone is represented by the 9M120 Attack anti-tank guided missiles equipped with a radio command control system, as well as the 9K38 Igla anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, the Russian rocket-powered flamethrower Shmel-M is part of the robotic complex. The design of the weapon installation used has a modular principle, which makes it easy to change the composition of the installed weapons, depending on the tasks and customer requirements.
The main task of a 10-ton combat vehicle (the curb weight can reach up to 12 tons) is to conduct remote reconnaissance and fire support of reconnaissance and forward units of combined-arms formations of the tactical echelon. The robot is controlled by the operator remotely.
Earlier, Rosoboronexport experts noted that Uran-9 can be most useful in conducting local anti-terrorist and reconnaissance operations, including in settlements and urbanized areas. The use of such robotic technology in the future should help reduce losses among personnel. Thanks to the existing weapon system, this combat robot can hit targets of the "tank" type with missile weapons at a distance of up to 5000 meters during the day and up to 3500 meters at night. Small arms and cannon weapons can be used to engage stationary and moving targets both day and night.
A set of means of transportation and support, photo 766uptk.ru
Overseas response
It is worth noting that Russia, of course, is not the only country that is working on the creation of promising combat robots. In recent years, the actual level of funding for combat robotics for the US military has grown by about 90 percent compared to early Pentagon forecasts. The corresponding conclusion was made in the report, on the compilation of which the specialists of Bard College (New York) worked. The American army is also preparing for the wars of the future, but Russia today has something to answer, Andrey Koshkin, an expert of the Association of Military Political Scientists, head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told reporters at the Federal News Agency.
The report notes that in the next fiscal year, the leadership of the American army is going to allocate about $ 6.97 billion for the design of various UAVs, uninhabited surface and underwater drones, as well as other unmanned systems. This will be 21 percent higher than the same indicators in 2017. In general, if we take into account such spending over the past five years, it becomes clear that the command of the US Army spends 90 percent more on the development of various unmanned systems than was planned for 2013.
“The existing dynamics of scientific and technological progress is already challenging the armies of those countries that are not working on the development of their own military robots. As a result, such armies may not just lag behind, but hopelessly lag behind in their development, including in ensuring the combat readiness of their armed forces. There was a period some time ago when numerous military experts declared that the era of military robots was coming. However, at that time it was still technically very difficult and financially expensive, but now everything is changing,”Andrey Koshkin commented on the situation. Modern combat is becoming more and more complex and fleeting, for this reason all decisions must be made very quickly, almost instantly. While modern robotic technology has problems in this, not everything turns out as planned, but technologies are constantly being improved, every day more and more new systems appear that contribute to the fact that we will see combat robots as participants in real battles.
Black knight
If we talk about the American development closest to the Russian combat robot Uran-9, we can call the Black Knight project. This is an experimental American combat vehicle, which is currently being developed by BAE Systems. This robot is also based on a tracked chassis and weighs about 10 tons. The main armament of this robot is a 30-mm automatic cannon (some sources indicate a 25-mm cannon, like on the Bradley BMP) and a 7.62-mm M240 machine gun paired with it. The combat robot has a developed system of sensors and sensors, radar, thermal imagers and television cameras. It is controlled from the command BMP Bradley. "Black Knight", like its Russian counterpart, is able to navigate off-road and any rough terrain. This development has already passed military tests.
The main armament of the combat robot on the tracked chassis is located in the turret and corresponds to the armament of the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The combat weight of the prototype was about 9, 5 tons. Length - about 5 meters, width - 2.44 m, height - 2 meters. Due to its size, the Black Knight can be transported by air with C-130 military transport aircraft. The heart of the combat robot undergoing testing was the Caterpillar engine, which developed 300 horsepower. The engine compartment was located in the front of the hull, the maximum speed of the robot was 77 km / h.
A very large number of systems and sensors are located on the Black Knight tower. Several video cameras, including stereoscopic ones, are responsible for obtaining information about the world around us. There are also four laser radars (LADAR), which are located on swivel mounts. The middle two radars scan the terrain in the horizontal plane, the two outer ones - in the vertical plane. PTZ cameras (pan-tilt-zoom) are used as a panoramic observation device. Also on the tower is a GPS satellite navigation system receiver, a data transmission antenna and other systems. All this equipment makes it easier for the operator to control the combat robot.
Black knight
All information collected by the "Black Knight" is transmitted to the control station via a secure radio channel. If necessary, some functions, which include motion control or search for targets, can be transferred to the electronics, which operates fully automatically.
