The Kurier (Courier) ground robotic system of the Berkut special mining battalion of Russia’s Battlegroup South’s 11th Engineer Brigade is capable of withstanding a series of hits from FPV drones and remaining operational thanks to its anti-drone armor, TASS reported citing the Zvezda TV channel.
"They’ve already withstood about four, five, or six hits from FPV drones <…> from the rubber all the way down to the base of the vehicle itself - about 40-45 cm. As a result, the low-power cumulative jet simply doesn’t reach the vehicle itself," said an engineer-operator of the robotic system with the call sign Bassoon.
According to the TV channel’s report, the anti-drone armor is made from conveyor belts and used tracks. The Courier transports cargo to the line of engagement, with the crew controlling it remotely from cover. The battalion also clears logistics routes: using bucket loaders, the tracked vehicles remove unexploded drones and logs from the road, while road rollers crush suspicious objects.
The TV program also featured the brigade’s proprietary development - the Shadriki demining robots. These robots can remotely detonate mines, shells, and other ammunition lying on the ground using a TNT pressure charge. "Once we’ve confirmed that we’ve positioned ourselves directly over the target, we drop the charge. As the charge falls, the fuse cord is ignited. We withdraw to a safe distance on the ground robotic platforms and conduct live recording," said a military engineer from the special demolition unit with the call sign Shadr, after whom the robotic platform is named.
