In the ongoing battle against the Russian invader, Ukraine has become a testing ground for high-tech, cutting-edge drone warfare. While air and sea drones are already successfully in use, ground drones are still being tested and modified.
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00:00These are ground drones. They could soon be a common sight on battlefields around the world.
00:07They can drive to enemy positions and blow themselves up.
00:11They can lay anti-tank mines and take supplies to frontline positions.
00:17They are easy to drive and keep soldiers out of danger.
00:23These men from the Khartia Brigade test and modify ground drones produced by civilian startup companies.
00:31This drone has already laid more than 180 mines and has proved itself quite well.
00:41As you can see, it has returned.
00:44Those other drones that you've seen, they can act as kamikaze or do logistics jobs for small loads.
00:55Various brigades across Ukraine are testing such ground drones.
01:00It's not a centrally coordinated process.
01:03In the Donetsk region, a logistics unit belonging to the 28th Brigade is working with a multi-purpose land drone.
01:12The mission needs a vehicle operator, a drone pilot to track its progress, and a commander.
01:20The drone can lay mines, and it just takes a few minutes to fit on a stretcher to carry a wounded soldier.
01:28They tell us this concept still has yet to be proven on the battlefield.
01:33They've been using this drone for six months, replacing soldiers carrying stuff on foot through dangerous areas.
01:41It can carry 120 kilograms and move across the terrain we see at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour.
01:48This is much faster than infantry with the same weight could go across fields.
01:56The unit is using the drones in the field, helping to take about a ton of cargo to frontline positions each week.
02:03They take some of the burden and risk from soldiers making the trip on foot.
02:08Back with the Kharkiv Brigade.
02:11This man, call sign REST, is working on a drone.
02:15Feedback to the manufacturers only goes so far.
02:19Often the soldiers make crucial modifications themselves.
02:23I'm making a repeater right now, thanks to which we can work at a greater distance on the front.
02:33I've soldered it, now I'm just going to check if everything worked, if I did everything correctly.
02:42Everything is lit, it works, so it'll all be fine.
02:48But sometimes extra distance isn't enough.
02:52There's an arms race going on, especially when it comes to jamming radio signals.
02:58If electronic warfare blocks the signal, that's it.
03:01The drone won't reach the destination, won't deliver ammunition,
03:05won't be able to evacuate the wounded or perform any other combat mission.
03:09It will simply stop in the middle of the field and stand there, and won't be of any use.
03:14Of course, these Ukrainian land drones are not the only ones in this war.
03:19The Russian state is developing such technology too.
03:22With the resources it has, it's making more and doing it faster than the Ukrainians.
03:28But these soldiers are confident.
03:31The main thing is how tactically we use them.
03:35If we use them wisely, they will work.
03:38If we don't use them wisely, they won't work.
03:41But for the most part, they will replace people in many critical areas.
03:47Drones have already changed warfare in the air.
03:51Now they're doing it on the ground.