THE UNMANNED VANGUARD

The utility of Unmanned Ground Vehicles makes them a vital addition for the Indian armed forces, but their pace of adoption needs to be accelerated.

- ATUL CHANDRA

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are now emerging as a vital battle support system, with greater adoption across militaries worldwide.

While Israel is considered one of the pioneers of UGV military operations, it is Ukraine that has accelerated the use of such systems in actual combat operations. In July this year, the Ukrainian media reported that a homegrown UGV had participated in a combat operation.

This April, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence Valerii Churkin stated that ground robotic systems are already performing various tasks, including assault and defensive operations, reconnaissance, mine-laying and demining, surveillance, logistics, and evacuation. These battlefield changes are likely also being closely studied by the Indian armed forces, which are also eyeing the procurement of UGVs for a variety of missions. However, from information available in the public domain, it appears that the pace of induction of genuinely combat-capable UGVs needs to be further accelerated.

Lessons from Ukraine