Ukrainian military personnel demonstrated how the largest ground robotic complex PROTECTOR from the Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company works. The corresponding video was shown by Army TV.
The video shows that the new NRK is almost a full-fledged car, but without a steering wheel, pedals and a driver. Instead, it is controlled by an operator remotely. Created on the basis of an SUV, it can carry cargo up to 700 kilograms and tow a trailer.
Anastasiya Oleschuk, a project manager for the development of unmanned systems, told about an experiment during which PROTECTOR pulled a trailer with a three-ton car behind it. The complex coped with this task perfectly.
The luggage compartment can accommodate three lying wounded at the same time. In the future, combat modules can also be installed on the NRC – for example, machine guns or grenade launchers.
The new product is also equipped with three types of communication and two antennas. As noted, the left antenna is a dummy for now, but this may change in the future.
"At the moment, the left one is like a dummy, but in the future we can install an antenna here that is responsible for some other technologies. We have provided one of the options for combating electronic warfare, which is switching between our three connections, that is, to one, to another, in this way to counter electronic warfare," explained Anastasia Oleschuk.
The right antenna is responsible for connecting to the control panel. It is noted that in rough terrain the communication range is 7 km, and in open areas – up to 12 km. On the panel itself, all controls are close to those of a regular car. On board the NRC there is a Starlink antenna - this is another type of communication.
PROTECTOR has a 3-liter diesel engine with 190 hp, which provides a range of 400-500 km. This is significantly more than other developments. The speed of the NRK is 45 km/h.
In addition, there is a red button on the body of the drone that allows you to instantly cut off power to all drone systems. The drone itself is equipped with day and night cameras.
It is noted that mass production of the complex has already begun, so we should expect such systems at the front.
Previously, the Ministry of Defence codified the PROTECTOR and allowed it to be operated in the Defense Forces. At that time, it became known that the PROTECTOR received wheels using RunFlat technology, which will allow it to continue moving even after damage.