Russia says it has deployed its Uran-9 robotic tank to Syria - here's what it can do
Developed by Russian state-owned Rosoboronexport, the Uran-9 was first unveiled in September 2016.
Powered by a diesel-electric motor, it has a top speed of about 22 mph on highways and about 6 mph on off-road conditions.
Source: army-technology.com
The Uran-9 is controlled from an operator in a mobile vehicle (no more than 1.8 miles away) who can either manually control it or set it on a pre-programmed path.
Source: army-technology.com, The National Interest
It's also equipped with a variety of sensors, laser warning systems, thermal and electro-optic cameras.
Source: army-technology.com
It's armed with four 9M120-1 Ataka anti-tank guided missile launchers, six 93 millimeter-caliber rocket-propelled Shmel-M reactive flamethrowers, one 30-millimeter 2A72 automatic cannon and one 7.62-millimeter coaxial machine gun.
Source: army-technology.com
Here's a view from the automatic turret, which can detect and acquire targets on its own up to about four miles away during the day. The operator, however, controls the firing.
Source: army-technology.com, The National Interest
But perhaps more consequential than what it is armed with is the fact that it is armed.
As Defense News notes:
"How armed robots are fielded and controlled is a question for the future and a pressing concern on battlefields today. If the control is at the tactical level, what rank does that put the person operating it? Are they directing the Uran-9 by waypoints on a tablet or steering it remotely, with a person constantly responsible for its every movement. What kind of communications is it relaying back to the person operating (supervising?) it? Is it making targeting decisions on its own, and then checking in with a human before firing? Just how protected from unauthorized access can a robot be when it’s controlled in-theater."
Source: Defense News
And another short one from Rosoboronexport:
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement