Ukraine's Khartiia Corps builds ground robots for fighting inside gas pipelines
A ground-robotics battalion of Ukraine's Khartiia Corps is developing unmanned robots designed to fight inside gas pipes and other narrow spaces. Its commander says underground combat is harder than operating in the air or on the surface.
The ground-robotics battalion of the Lava drone regiment, part of Ukraine's Khartiia Corps, is developing unmanned ground robots adapted for combat inside gas pipelines and other confined spaces, the corps has reported. The work follows Operation Veles on the Kupiansk front, where Khartiia advanced 15 kilometres through gas pipes. The war has gained a new front: underground.
A new domain of fighting
According to the source, over the past year Russian forces have crawled through gas pipelines to get behind Ukrainian lines. Ukrainian command responded by going underground itself during Operation Veles. The battalion commander, who uses the callsign Matematyk, regards this environment as harder to fight in than the air or the surface.
His team is reworking robots originally built for surface use so they suit the cramped conditions of a pipe and the specific tasks of the new domain. Khartiia says the list of work required is very long, covering both fighting underground and countering Russian activity there. The commander describes it as a new class of technologies and problems.
Existing technology falls short
Matematyk explains that technology for working below ground is designed for the heavy machines companies use to dig metros, not for warfare. Fighting has already moved underground and will only spread, he says; the question is how quickly Ukraine can adapt.
He points to the First World War and other underground battles in Europe as evidence of how dangerous and complex such combat is. His conclusion is that Ukraine must work with robots that can at least raise effectiveness and replace people in underground tasks.
Ukraine is already using robots for dangerous jobs above ground. In one recent assault, 28 armed machines and no soldiers were sent at Russian lines, as the country tries to spare an infantry short of manpower.
