DÉFENSE ZONE
On the Ukrainian front, ground drones are gradually establishing themselves as the new tool of the battlefield. Initially designed for resupply, these robots are already transforming the way battles are fought. An exclusive report.
Midnight, Kharkiv oblast
It is midnight, and the sky over Kharkiv oblast is clear this December. A military pick-up speeds through the dark streets of a small village some twenty kilometres from the Russian border. After a few minutes, the vehicle and the trailer it is towing stop in front of the ruins of a petrol station destroyed by a recent strike. As the buzz of enemy drones echoes in the distance, the two soldiers jump out and lower the trailer’s ramp, revealing a small square vehicle with oversized wheels, loaded with bottles of water, food and ammunition. A few kilometres away, a UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle, ground drone) operator is already watching the scene on his screen through a camera built into the robot. Once authorised, he pushes the joystick of his remote control and sets the drone in motion. The machine slowly descends the ramp, pauses as if to look around, then sets off. A few seconds later, it disappears into the night.
A logistics revolution
This scene is now commonplace on the Ukrainian front. After revolutionising war in the air, drones are multiplying on the ground. “We already had some at the start of the conflict, but their use has clearly intensified over the past year”, notes Kupa, a sergeant of the Khartiia brigade in charge of the operation. According to Kyiv, from a few hundred in 2024, nearly 15,000 of them were delivered to Ukrainian units last year. The reason is simple: resupplying forward positions has become extremely perilous, due to the proliferation of FPV drones and their thermal cameras. Tactical depth has increased considerably and the second line is now fifteen or even twenty kilometres back. Without the help of UGVs, soldiers have to cover this distance on foot, carrying nearly sixty kilos of equipment. “It is now more dangerous to go to and from the front than to stay there”, Kupa sums up…
Read the rest of this report by David Taché in Défense Zone #22.
Further reading
Reread our investigation into FPV drones and remotely operated munitions in the French armed forces — and follow our news.
