Ukraine Has Unleashed Its Robot War Dogs On the Frontline

The robot dogs are now being used routinely on the Donbas front. They can conduct reconnaissance, deliver supplies and bring medicine to the wounded. 

Their ability to run for long distances, relatively undetectable size and small heat signature make them extremely useful - and hard to see by humans or drones. JL

Hugh Cameron reports in Newsweek:

The addition of robot dogs to Ukraine's Armed Forces promises more opportunities for reconnaissance in tough terrain, and gives Kyiv an edge over Moscow. The robot dogs were developed by British drone manufacturer Brit Alliance, which has sent over 30 of the devices to Ukraine. Ghe dogs can run at up to 9 mph, have a battery life of five hours, and carry the same "heat signature" as a rabbit, making them nearly undetectable to Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. The dogs are part of the Ukrainian combat unit known as "Medoid,", or Honey Badger, "successfully thinning the ranks of the occupiers in the east of Ukraine."

Ukraine is showcasing its fleet of robotic dogs, capable of delivering ammunition, conducting surveillance, and providing support to front-line forces in the war with Russia.

 

Autonomous or remotely controlled weaponry has already played a significant role in the war against Russia, with drones in particular proving instrumental for Ukraine's defensive and offensive efforts.

However, the addition of robot dogs to Ukraine's Armed Forces promises more opportunities for reconnaissance in tough terrain, and gives Kyiv a potential edge over Moscow in ground operations.

A video posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday by UkraineNewsLive, shows a drone dropping the "combat robot scout" in a field at an undisclosed location, which then rises to its feet before walking in place.

 

Another video, posted by the Khortytsia unit of the armed forces in early September, shows the dog accompanying a Ukrainian soldier, who uses the robot's thermal imaging camera for surveillance in a wooded area.

 

According to the two posts, the dogs are part of the Ukrainian combat unit known as "Medoid,", or Honey Badger, which Khortytsia's post claimed was "successfully thinning the ranks of the occupiers in the east of Ukraine."

A Ukrainian operator demonstrates the capabilities of a robot dog at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on August 7, 2024. Kyiv has already received as many as 30 robot dogs, which are capable of conducting...  Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

 

Kyiv first unveiled the remote-controlled dogs in August, when the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian 28th Mechanized Brigade published a video of a robot dog patrolling a heavily damaged town 

"He has a multitude of talents and a wide potential for use on the battlefield," the post read. "Just as drones once changed the war, so our four-legged robotic friends will influence the course of hostilities."

This followed an X post by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in which the commander of the 28th Mechanized Brigade said: "Such a dog should be in every unit."

 

According to German newspaper Bild, the robot dogs were developed by British risk-management company and drone manufacturer Brit Alliance, which has sent over 30 of the devices to Ukraine.

The company's managing director, Kyle Thorburn, told the German tabloid that they were "concerned about the increasingly frequent reports of losses on the front line by enemy drones," and sought to create a "safer solution for reconnaissance missions in high-risk zones."

The Bild article goes on to claim that the dogs can run at up to 9 mph, have a battery life of five hours, and carry the same "heat signature" as a rabbit, making them nearly undetectable to Russian unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

However, a Forbes article claimed the hardware closely resembled thatmade by Chinese firm Unitree Robotics.

Newsweek has contacted Brit Alliance to inquire about its role in supplying Ukraine with the devices.

A Unitree quadruped robot on display during the CES exhibition in Las Vegas in January, 2024. Forbes claims Ukraine's robot dogs are manufactured by Unitree, rather than British firm Brit Alliance. Christopher Trim/Cal Sport Media via AP

 

While novel for Ukraine, several countries have utilized their own robot dogs as evidence of the increasing technologization of their armed forces.

In January, Chinese state media published a video of a remotely operated "dog of war," a four-legged robot mounted with what appeared to be a light machine gun, and the People's Liberation Army showcased a similar device during joint military drills with Cambodia in April.

At a 2022 weapons expo, Russia fitted a Chinese Unitree Robotics dog with an RPG-26 rocket launcher, in an attempt to demonstrate the military potential of even commercially available robots.

Steve Goose, arms campaigns director for Human Rights Watch, previously told Newsweek that the increasing trend of militaries turning toward such "killer robots" would only accelerate, given the failure of international organizations to legislate against their use.

 

Goose believes the progress being made in this field, including toward fully autonomous versions of these weapons, could pose a danger to the survival of humankind only rivalled by nuclear weapons and climate change.