{"id":7763,"date":"2025-07-23T11:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T08:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/?post_type=insights&p=7763"},"modified":"2025-12-08T12:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T10:24:24","slug":"how-khartiia-uses-ugv","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/insights\/how-khartiia-uses-ugv\/","title":{"rendered":"Ground robots of Khartiia: How the brigade uses UGVs and what systems It operates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On July 22, the National Guard of Ukraine\u2019s Khartiia brigade reported<\/a> a successful evacuation of a wounded soldier using an unmanned ground vehicle. This is not the first example of UGVs being used this way by the brigade\u2019s fighters. The unit actively employs UGVs for logistics and other mission-critical tasks. Defender Media spoke with Andrii (call sign \u201cMathematician\u201d), head of Khartiia\u2019s unmanned ground vehicle division, about what UGVs the brigade operates and the roles they play on the battlefield.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Logistics, Evacuation, Minelaying<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The brigade doesn’t disclose the number of UGVs in service or the percentage of logistics tasks completed using them. But I can say that on a typical night, 3\u20134 of our ground robots operate simultaneously. Each can make one or several trips, carrying between 200 and 500 kg per trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you may know, we recently completed<\/a> a successful medical evacuation using our Targun UGV. In fact, there have already been several such missions, and we reported on the most recent one involving a different ground robot just yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/strong>: Tor-800 UGV rescued a wounded infantryman from the Khartiia brigade, covering 13 km of rough terrain<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u201cMathematician\u201d, head of Khartiia\u2019s unmanned ground vehicle division<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At Khartiia, we\u2019ve tested nearly every possible use case for UGVs \u2014 including minelaying. We\u2019ve deployed over 200 mines using our unmanned platforms. I won\u2019t specify which UGV performed these missions, as it\u2019s no longer relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for demining \u2014 personally, I don\u2019t believe in chain-type UGV deminers. There are too many nuances that cast doubt on their effectiveness. Beyond the third line of defence, such tools are basically useless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I estimate our brigade\u2019s need for UGVs at around 500 units. We\u2019re still far from that number. But talking about quantity makes little sense without understanding exactly what tools we need and what we need them for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UGVs in use by Khartiia<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Every successful UGV at the front has evolved alongside a specific unit. That\u2019s the only way to create a quality product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the Volia-E UGV, for example \u2014 it was refined through collaboration with the 92nd Brigade and the 3rd Assault Brigade. Over two years, they fixed issue after issue. Now it\u2019s a ready product \u2014 and we use it too. Though there\u2019s still room for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the backbone of our fleet is the Targun UGV. It handles logistics tasks, and we\u2019ve already completed several evacuation missions with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s also a very promising project called Thor. We\u2019ve been working with them for some time, and we\u2019re very impressed. But they haven\u2019t yet scaled production enough to meet even just our brigade\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re doing what we can to support them. Right now, they\u2019re fully booked with our orders \u2014 likely for at least the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept and product design are excellent. This team previously developed the all-terrain THOR vehicle (similar in concept to the Atlas or SHERP). They\u2019ve since created a UGV based on that platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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