Ukraine’s soldiers cracked problem US chased for 30 years: a drone that ferries combat robot deep into enemy rear

Ukrainian soldiers have developed a cutting-edge drone capable of delivering a combat robot to the enemy's rear, a feat that eluded the United States for three decades. The Alter Ego battalion of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade paired a bomber drone with a specialized robot known as Desantnyk, taking the concept from concept to combat within just ten days, according to the Brave1 defense cluster.

This innovative system addresses a longstanding challenge for ground robots: traversing mined, cratered terrain they are unable to cross independently. The drone carries the Desantnyk robot dozens of kilometers behind enemy lines and releases it with pinpoint precision, a pairing engineers refer to as a "marsupial," where one carrier delivers another.

The United States has been working on similar systems for over three decades, and Ukraine is not alone in utilizing this technology – the 3rd Army Corps has been employing air-dropped robots behind Russian lines in its Vivaldi offensive. The Desantnyk is a compact, wheeled platform designed to be released accurately from heavy bomber drones, allowing it to land deep within enemy territory and travel directly to its target.

This approach aims to protect the robot from the most dangerous and exposed portion of its journey. According to Brave1, the Desantnyk has already been deployed in combat, successfully destroying Russian shelters and troops with confirmed strikes made within just ten days of development. Currently, only a limited number of Ukrainian units have mastered this tactic.

The Brave1 defense cluster is moving the Desantnyk system into full-scale production, with assistance in finding a manufacturer to transition the technology from prototypes to serial production and deployment to other units.