A new era of warfare in the Ukraine War is emerging.
Russia allegedly wants to use combat robots in the Donbass region for the first time.
Kyiv - Russia has been working on combat robots for years.
Its use could represent a new type of warfare.
The weapon robot "Marker" seems to be the most promising.
According to Russian media reports, the robots may now be used in the Ukraine war.
Fr.de from Ippen.Media had also reported on this.
Dmitry Rogozin, former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and close confidant of Vladimir Putin, announced on the short message service Telegram that the technology will survive a "baptism of fire" on the battlefields in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.
Rogozin was recently injured by shrapnel at a birthday party.
News about the Ukraine war: Russia wants to use "Marker" combat robots
But what is it?
The combat robot "Marker" works "autonomously", boasts Rogozin.
The technology should not only provide support in combat missions, but can also locate and shoot at targets from around 15 kilometers away, the state news agency
Tass
reported .
It is also possible to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield, the state news service
Ria Novosti
reported in November 2021.
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
This cannot be verified independently.
But several units are said to have been tested at the Russian cosmodrome Vostochny, according to consistent media reports.
The last test runs were completed in June 2020.
After that, the robots were handed over to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The ministry is instrumental in developing the machines, Andrei Grigoriyev, CEO of Russia's Advanced Research Foundation, told
Tass
last year .
Ukraine war: Russia's combat robots can "hit many times faster"
Tests with shooting targets have shown that the combat robot can hit targets "many times faster" than humans,
Newsweek
quoted the development manager of the Foundation for Technologies and Basic Elements of Robotics, Oleg Martyanov.
In addition, thanks to artificial intelligence, "Marker" can distinguish between civilians and military personnel and thus target those who pose a "direct threat".
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A Uran-9 unmanned combat robot is driven across a street during the Russian military parade.
(archive image)
© Pavel Golovkin/dpa
It is unclear exactly when the combat robots will be used in the Ukraine war.
So far, no cases are known in which combat robots kill enemy soldiers completely independently.
According to Ukraine, however, this is only a matter of time and the next "logical and inevitable" step, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister for digital transformation, in an interview with the
AP
news agency .
"I think that there is great potential for this in the next six months." Kyiv has done "a lot of research and development in this direction," it said.
In any case, the tests in Russia have been completed,
Ria Novosti
reported on Wednesday (January 11).
The "marker" technology weighs around three tons and can be equipped with various weapon systems.
Moscow also has the Uran-9 combat robot, which was presented alongside modern battle tanks and anti-aircraft systems at Russia's military parade on May 9, 2022.
A NATO state also announced the use of armed combat robots in close proximity to Russia.
(
kas
)
List of rubrics: © Pavel Golovkin/dpa