Ukrainian enterprises are actively launching the serial production of ground drones. The mass use of these robotic platforms with different functionality at the front can bring the “war of drones” to a qualitatively new level and save the lives of our soldiers. Oleksandr “Tikhohod” Dmitriev, the author of the “Eyes” project, told about this in an interview with military expert Valentin Badrak.
“A huge number of talented people have already connected to the development of these platforms. Many already have serial production and are developing serial production. I think there will be more of them the further we go,” said Oleksandr “Tikhohod”.
According to Oleksandr Dmitriev, in Ukraine and in the world there are many developments of such ground drones, but there is a question of adapting these drones to the conditions of war.
“Radio-controlled ground platforms are not news. The issue is that not all of them are military. That is, there are questions about their resistance to the conditions in which they are used. Regarding soils, regarding patency. And the main positioning is communication. Because , if an error of a meter or two is not critical for aerial drones, then on the ground an error of centimeters can end the life cycle of this platform, because it will either fall somewhere or get stuck,” the expert said.
Ukraine needs to develop production precisely military ground drones, “Tikhohod” is confident.
“It is important that drones, any unmanned systems, are predictable in their application. That they meet their tactical and technical characteristics and work stably. If this drone has to travel 20 km, then it has to travel 20 km, maybe even more, but not less by any means. And using civilian means for war, their predictability is much less. Because we cannot be sure that their quality is suitable for the conditions in which they will be used. In addition, some unit should be able to use them , so that there is already a series. Not one, not two per month. And so that the manufacturer has enough capacity to restore losses and replenish the fleet of ground drones,” Oleksandr Dmitriev explained.
He noted that ground drones make it possible to secure and preserve the lives of the Ukrainian military.
“I believe that human lives should be preserved first and foremost and use the maximum of everything possible, including unmanned systems, in order to to reduce the risks to life and preserve them. So that machines, not people, are fighting,” Tihohod emphasized.
Currently, the task is to speed up the process of introducing technologies and the production of ground drones.
“Today, there are already specialized units that deal with such unmanned systems. And there is a presidential decree on providing proposals for the creation of the Forces of Unmanned Systems as a separate type of military. That is, development in this direction is underway. But I would really like it faster, much faster. Because it stands the issue of financing developments, and the purchase of these developments, and the study of implementation experience – many components. Many are engaged in this direction in a positive way and somehow try to speed it all up, but I would like to do it even faster,” Tikhod emphasized.