Defense Minister Shoigu: military robots were used on a large scale for the first time during the West-2021 exercise
Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
At the exercises of the troops of Russia and Belarus “West-2021” for the first time, combat robots were used on a large scale. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this during an expanded meeting of the collegium of the defense department, reports TASS.
Shoigu noted that the Zapad-2021 exercise has become the main event in combat training. The minister also emphasized the use of combat robots during maneuvers. “For the first time in the exercise, serial shock robotic systems were used on a large scale in battle formations,” he said.
In October, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, General of the Army Oleg Salyukov, announced that in 2022 the military would begin trial operation of combat robots. This will make it possible to determine the optimal number of Uran-9 and Nerekhta robotic systems in the army.
In September, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the use of the Uran-9 and Nerekhta robots in the West-2021 exercises. Robotic systems were used for reconnaissance and fire support of units.
In August, Sergei Shoigu spoke about the industrial production of combat robots. He stressed that the weapons of robots can hit targets at a distance of up to five kilometers.
