Russia showed off a new ‘robotank’ in its Victory Day parade

Sep 12, 2019 2:52 AM PDT

1 minute read

SUMMARY

In films and in comics, combat robots have caught our imaginations for years. Whether it’s the Terminator, Optimus Prime, or giant Gundams, robots with serious firepower draw big crowds to the box office. But such mechanical marvels haven’t yet em…

In films and in comics, combat robots have caught our imaginations for years. Whether it's the Terminator, Optimus Prime, or giant Gundams, robots with serious firepower draw big crowds to the box office. But such mechanical marvels haven't yet emerged on the real battlefield.

That may soon change — at least for Russia, who recently demonstrated the Uran-9 unmanned ground combat vehicle (UGCV) at the 2018 Victory Day Parade on May 8.

Now, this vehicle isn't some mech out of Robotech. According to Rosoboronexport's website, this system is designed to provide "remote reconnaissance and fire support to combined arms, recon, and counter-terror units."

Since it doesn't need to haul any crew or grunts, the Uran-9 is a very compact vehicle that can hide and ambush the enemy.

(Rosoboronexport)

The system consists of a control station, a truck, and two remote-controlled tankettes. It might not sound like much, but this small tank (it weighs about 11 tons) can punch way above its weight. In fact, its armament suite is comparable to some full-sized Russian infantry fighting vehicles.

The main weapon on the Uran-9 is a 30mm autocannon, similar to those used on the BMP-2, BTR-90, BTR-80A, and BMP-3 IFVs. It also carries four AT-9 Spiral 2 anti-tank missiles, six RPO thermobaric rockets, and a 7.62mm PKT machine gun.

A look at the 30mm autocannon and two AT-9 Spiral 2 anti-tank missiles used on the Uran-9.

(Vitaly V. Kuzmin)

The Uran-9 is a versatile system and can swap out and add weapons to better suit the mission. For example, it's capable of using the SA-16/SA-18 man-portable, surface-to-air missiles for stronger anti-aircraft capability. While its diverse arsenal makes it very capable fighter, it also carries sensors and tracking gear to find the enemy.

The United States doesn't have a similar system, but has used packbots and larger robots for clearing explosives and urban recon.

Learn more about this super-lethal, unmanned Russian tankette in the video below!