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Ukraine Sends Grenade-Launcher Robots Into Russian Positions Instead of Infantry
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukrainian forces used ground robots armed with grenade launchers to attack Russian positions and enter enemy shelters during an offensive operation, allowing assault tasks to be carried out without directly exposing infantry.
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According to Ukraine’s Third Army Corps on September 27, operators from its NC13 strike unmanned ground vehicle unit modified ground attack robots and deployed them under a new tactical concept during Operation Vivaldi.
The unmanned ground vehicles, or UGVs, were each equipped with two Bullspike grenade launchers. The robots approached Russian positions, fired at them, then continued toward the troops’ shelters before detonating inside.
The Third Army Corps said the systems were intended to perform several functions normally associated with assault troops: striking fortified positions, putting pressure on Russian personnel, and helping clear positions while Ukrainian infantry remained out of direct contact.
Operators controlled the vehicles remotely from protected locations tens of kilometers from the front line, according to the corps.
The military said Russian troops could have interpreted the attack as an assault by a conventional ground unit, while the operation was in fact being conducted by remotely controlled platforms.
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“No one has used similar tactics in the history of the war before. The robots were controlled by operators from safe shelters tens of kilometers from the line of contact,” the Third Army Corps said.
The Bullspike PG-22 is a Bulgarian-made updated version of the disposable RPG-22 rocket launcher. It uses a PG-22 projectile with a HEAT warhead, according to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
The tactic builds on the Third Army Corps’ broader use of ground robots during the second phase of Operation Vivaldi. Earlier in the operation, Ukrainian forces used heavy aerial drones to carry attack UGVs more than 10 kilometers behind Russian positions.
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