A Ukrainian arms company says it has modified one of its ground robots to carry and launch unjammable fiber-optic drones. Ukrainian forces can put the drones in the air closer to the front without exposing pilots.
Ratel Robotics shared a video this week of its Ratel H model robot equipped with a protected box. In the clip, the launcher opens up and releases a small drone connected to a fiber-optic cable. The uncrewed ground vehicle functions as a mobile launch point.
CEO Taras Ostapchuk told Business Insider the “ground robot becomes like a base station” for the up to four drones that it can carry. Those bases are typically human-operated launch points, where pilots need to be closer to danger to put the drone in the air.
Ostapchuk said that the ground robot can drop off operators at a safe location and then continue toward the front to launch the drones. The operators remotely controlling it and the fiber-optic drones can hang back “in the safest place possible.”
The aim is that “everything is as safe as possible for all people performing this mission,” the CEO said.
Fiber-optic drones, which receive signals by a thin cable rather than radio links, have become central to the war because they can’t be jammed by electronic warfare like other drones — though their range is limited and the cable can be cut or snagged.
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It is unclear how many of Ratel Robotics’ systems have been adapted for this mission or whether they are already in the field.
Drone carriers are not necessarily a new concept. For instance, Ukrainian soldiers say Russia is using its medium-sized strike drones to fly smaller drones into battle like “an aircraft carrier.”
Ground robots account for only a small share of Ukraine’s drone missions, but the technology is becoming more prolific.
New Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said this week that Ukrainian forces carried out more than 7,000 combat and logistics missions with ground robotic systems in January. He added that production and upgrades are accelerating.
Ukraine uses its fleet of ground robots for many different missions, including carrying ammunition and gear, evacuating wounded soldiers, laying mines, demining, firing on Russian positions, and exploding near targets.
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The Ratel H can carry more than 880 pounds and can travel more than 37 miles. The company says it is multipurpose, able to transport cargo and evacuate wounded soldiers. The robot can also be equipped with weaponry and electronic warfare systems.
The West is paying close attention to Ukraine’s fight, seeking to learn lessons about what it would need to fight Russia.
Ground robots are drawing close scrutiny in the West. Western militaries have fielded similar systems, but not at this scale or across so many roles, and Ukrainian companies are pushing the technology forward.
