Ukraine War Robots Starting to Down Drones, Could Alter the Kill Zone

Ukraine’s robots are increasingly able to down aerial drones, a capability that could eventually help soldiers move and fight in some of the war’s most dangerous areas.

The skies in Ukraine are full of surveillance and strike drones that make movement risky, particularly in the kill zone surrounding the front lines.

Ukrainian units are increasingly trying to use robots there instead of humans, and companies are giving robots new abilities to take down drones.

Oleksandr Yabchanka, head of robotic systems for Ukraine’s Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, a prominent Ukrainian military unit, told Business Insider that Russian drones are one of “the key challenges” on the battlefield, and “I believe that ground-based robotic systems can play a significant role in addressing this issue. “

With effective protection against those drones, he said, “the nature of combat operations along the line of contact could change substantially.”

He called defending the “low sky” by countering enemy drones a promising role for ground robots.

Beyond leading front-line operators, Yabchanka also co-founded Defence Robotics UA, a non-profit that helps Ukrainian units adopt robotic technologies.

“I have particularly high hopes for the use of ground-based robotic systems in defending the low-altitude airspace,” he said.

The kill zone

Inside the kill zone, drones complicate movement, so robots are taking on new roles in logistics, casualty evacuation, and more. Some of these systems are equipped with weaponry and jamming equipment to take down hostile drones.

Robots equipped for counter-drone missions could reduce the demand for short-range air defense units, which provide cover for infantry moving in and out, in the kill zone. Right now, these units face great danger and risk getting pinned down inside.

These robots could also defend themselves as Russia increasingly targets them.

Mykyta Rozhkov, chief business development officer at Ukrainian robotics and technology company Frontline Robotics, told Business Insider that robots are “becoming a main target” for Russia and are defenseless without added protections.

Giving robots the ability to defend themselves could make them more survivable, while turning them into mobile air defenses could help protect troops.

Rozhkov said makers are now “trying to find a way how we can defend against FPVs.”

Yabchanka said that when it comes to changing the kill zone, “it would be incorrect to promise that this will happen specifically within the next 12 months.”

But he said robots have already successfully stopped some drones, and “I believe this field has a great future.”

Robots vs drones

Most of the technology in this space is still being tested or used on a limited scale, primarily to protect the robots themselves rather than provide broader air defense.

Rozhkov said that while it’s key to have uncrewed ground vehicles be capable of defending themselves, he expects to eventually see UGVs functioning as a mobile, short-range air defense system to try to clear the skies.

His company is working with a partner on a system that uses cameras and sensors to find hostile drones and then engages them with a separate capability. He didn’t disclose how it would engage enemy drones.

Other Ukrainian robot makers are also adding anti-drone capabilities, some involving smoke, nets, and shrapnel solutions. Robots are increasingly being fitted with weaponry like machine guns, and some companies have said that these weapons can stop enemy drones.

Ukrainian company UFORCE, for instance, says it has destroyed enemy drones in ambush scenarios. The company’s AI-assisted Predator weapons station can be mounted on robots to track and fire at drones. The 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade previously described a machine gun mounted on a Liut robot shooting down Russian drones.

Rovertech, which advertises itself as making “robots for the kill zone,” is developing a system that uses sensors, AI-assisted detection, and a net launcher to stop incoming drones, while Ratel Robotics has started serial production on a protective system that includes net launchers on its robots.

Ukraine’s 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade said last month that it had deployed an active protection system using net launchers and shared a video showing one of its robots firing a net at an approaching drone, which then crashed to the ground.

Some Ukrainian units have also driven robots carrying electronic warfare equipment forward to jam Russia’s drones, but it’s an emerging capability that has yet to see widespread use.

Brave1, Ukraine’s state-backed innovation platform, says armed robots are starting to be used against aerial drones, but it wants more, describing anti-aircraft weaponry and protection as priorities.

Rozhkov said that soon, Ukraine’s robots will have “more and more sophisticated solutions” to stop drones.

He said it’s essential because the first side that figures out how to stop small FPVs “will gain a huge advantage on the battlefield and can create dramatic results.”