Robot Warfare: New Russian Battlestation Can Control 10 Drones at Once

A state-of-the art system capable of simultaneously controlling ten drones and ground-based robots has reportedly been unveiled in Russia.

Russia’s Vega Radio Engineering Corporation has presented a modernized system capable of simultaneously controlling ten unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ground-based robots, Leonid Khozin, spokesman for Russia's United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

The system is on display at a robotic technology exhibition which opened at Patriot Park outside Moscow on February 10. The exhibition is being held within the framework of Robot Automation, a military technology conference being hosted by the Russian Armed Forces.

Defence Ministry's State Center of Unmanned Aviation

© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov

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Khozin said that the Vega concern presented "an upgraded hardware-software system for controlling a group of UAVs and ground robotic systems [mounted] on a KAMAZ-43116 chassis."

"The system, which has controls for UAVs and robots, is equipped with five workstations for operators. It includes a supercomputer which allows the operators to run up to ten UAVs and ground-based robotic systems at once," Khozin said.

As for the KAMAZ-43116 chassis, it is highly maneuverable and can operate autonomously for up to seven days; the system's mobile version can be deployed within 15 minutes, according to Khozin.

Meanwhile, Sergei Popov, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's scientific research and robotics center, has said that the ministry has been increasingly using robots for a variety of tasks, from looking for illegal armed groups to mine sweeping.

He added that "since 2011, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles deployed by the Russian Defense Ministry has risen ninefold, the use of ground robots has tripled and the use of underwater robots has increased four times."