Ukraine’s ground robots are giving its army a new way to use the M2 Browning, a powerful, crew-served American machine gun that is often mounted on vehicles because of its weight.
Ukraine is using its growing fleet of ground robots to attack Russian targets, with weapons including grenade launchers, RPGs, and machine guns.
One weapon of choice is the American-designed, century-old M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun, known as “Ma Deuce,” which has seen conflicts from World War II to Afghanistan and is now being used by Ukraine against Russian troops and drones.
Ukrainian robot and weapons maker DevDroid says the M2 is especially well-suited for robots, which can carry the heavy gun into battle while keeping soldiers farther from the front.
The company’s main product is the Droid TW, a reconnaissance and strike ground robot with a turret that can fit a machine gun, including a KT-7.62, a Ukrainian variant of the Soviet PKT.
But the robot’s primary weapon is the M2, Oleg Fedoryshyn, the company’s director of R&D, told Business Insider. “I think in the Ukrainian Army, maybe 90% of all Droid TW are with Brownings.”
It’s a readily available weapon, he said. “We have a lot of Brownings in the army.”
The M2 can be carried and operated by troops in the field, but doing so takes a crew and is burdensome. “It’s quite hard for a soldier to take a Browning on himself and some ammunition because it’s quite heavy. It’s better to use a vehicle,” Fedoryshyn said.
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In the US military, a common weapon configuration is to mount the .50 caliber machine gun atop a vehicle like a Humvee. In Ukraine, though, crewed vehicles and their crew are at tremendously high risk, due primarily to mine and drone threats.
Handing the weapon to the robot
A robot, also known as an unmanned ground vehicle or UGV, is a better vehicle choice, Fedoryshyn said, because it keeps soldiers farther from the fight. “It’s better to set it on a UGV because in this case, you don’t need a soldier for that near the machine gun.”
The M2 Browning, designed by the US at the end of World War I and fielded in the early 1930s, is now one of the most widely used heavy machine guns in the world, used by more than 90 countries.
At 84 pounds before ammunition, a tripod, and other gear, the M2’s weight means it is typically used differently from lighter machine guns.
The M2 can be carried into the field by troops, but its weight makes it cumbersome and manpower-intensive, which is why it is often mounted on vehicles, tripods, or fixed positions. Putting it on a robot lets Ukraine use the gun’s firepower without requiring troops to haul, crew, or fire it from exposed positions.
The DevDroid system can also support the US-made M240 medium machine gun, but Fedoryshyn said that weapon isn’t as available to Ukrainian troops as the M2.
The US and other allies have supplied Ukraine with M2s and ammunition, giving Kyiv access to a weapon it can reliably keep in the fight. The US alone has produced millions of M2s over the decades, making it the kind of widely available weapon partner nations can send in meaningful numbers without quickly depleting their own stocks.
The M2 Browning is a popular choice for other companies that also manufacture Ukraine’s ground robots. This contrast between cutting-edge robots and a century-old weapon reflects a larger pattern in Ukraine: old gear being paired with new technology.
Ihor Kulakevych, a product manager at Ukraine’s FRDM Group, a drone and ground robot maker, previously told Business Insider that the company puts the M2 on its D-21-12 remotely controlled ground battle robot because of how available and dependable it is.
Many Western militaries have the gun and the required ammunition in their stockpiles, he said, so Ukraine can rely on a supply. The company also sees the M2 as a particularly reliable weapon.
Ukraine’s Frontline Robotics, another drone and weapons maker, also produces an autonomous weapons module designed to carry the M2, among other weapons, that can be mounted on a robot. Mykyta Rozhkov, the company’s chief business development officer, told Business Insider that this turns it into a “small tank.”
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The M2 is also being used in other autonomous weapons in Ukraine, including an AI-powered turret called the Sky Sentinel that Ukraine uses to stop Russia’s Shahed-style drones.
The M2 is a combat-proven weapon
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has described the gun as “legendary,” saying it has proven itself to be reliable and durable. The Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an elite combat force, have described the weapon as “a true warrior among weapons that has proven itself in the most extreme conditions.”
The M2 is also key for Ukraine’s air defense units that mount weaponry on the backs of pickup trucks and move around to try to stop Russia’s attacks before they hit their targets. Many of those crews use the iconic American gun, even as Ukraine develops new and more advanced anti-drone solutions like interceptor drones.
The commander of a mobile air defense unit previously told Business Insider that the gun is still effective in many situations, and that weapons like this are a key part of the layered air defense that Ukraine wants, with a host of different solutions to maximize its chances of taking down Russian drones.
Ukraine wants to make its growing fleet of ground robots as powerful and effective as possible to take on Russia while keeping its own soldiers safe. It’s using them not just to fire at Russian targets, but also to transport injured soldiers, to carry heavy gear, to lay and remove mines, and to bring explosives to Russian positions and then detonate.
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Their use is rapidly growing. Ukraine’s defense minister said earlier this month that the robots were used to help with more than 50,000 logistics and evacuation missions since the beginning of the year, up sharply from the 2,000 missions that officials had said the robots carried out in the six months leading up to December.
Fedoryshyn said that the ultimate goal with the robots is for them to “save people’s lives” by taking over as many roles from human soldiers as possible.