Former head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Fedorov announced plans to create humanoid combat robots
Ukraine is thinking about creating humanoid robots for fighting, former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov has said. The prototype is expected in a month, at first it will be a humanoid robot capable of performing some of the tasks of infantrymen or stormtroopers. Will Kiev be able to create an army of androids and will it help him in the conflict with Moscow, the military observer of Gazeta reasoned.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
Ukraine is working on creating humanoid robots to perform tasks on the battlefield, former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
According to him, such plans should be considered as a step—by-step process, from a simple solution to a more complex system. At the same time, Fedorov called the choice of the robot architecture — both hardware and software — and their integration a separate task. "From the types of humanoids that we see in the United States, we come to simple models that can be scaled," said the ex-minister.
He noted that now a robot on which you can install the necessary software costs about $40-70 thousand, and cheaper models are required for large—scale use. Ideally, according to Fedorov, the cost of such a robot should be $ 10-20 thousand. At the same time, it will depend "on the first task that Ukraine will solve."
An accurate understanding of the problems with the component base will appear after the creation of the first prototype, which is expected in about a month, said the former head of the Ukrainian military department. However, his team is already analyzing the available components.
According to the ex-minister, the need for such robots may amount to tens of thousands of units. His team is already exploring a company that has an MVP robot (Minimum Viable Product — minimum viable prototype) and, in his opinion, can potentially scale production. In other words, Fedorov's team will have to figure out whether it is worth automating a specific process and understand how the robot will work in real conditions before investing serious resources.
Fedorov's words should not be perceived as some kind of detached fantasies. Firstly, the ex-Minister of Ukraine himself has long established himself as an ideologist, innovator and revolutionary of military affairs — this must be admitted.
Secondly, Ukraine has become one of the first testing grounds for technology due to the active use of robotic systems and unmanned aerial vehicles in the conflict with Russia. In recent years, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have begun to widely use ground-based robotic platforms to deliver ammunition and evacuate the wounded, as well as autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and strikes against enemy targets.
And China is perhaps the furthest along in solving these problems today.
As for Ukraine, of course, Fedorov's correct emphasis on the robotization of the processes of armed struggle in the very specific conditions of this country may encounter simply insurmountable obstacles. This applies to the availability of the necessary electronic component base, software elements, and the availability of qualified specialists.
Finally, the entire territory of Ukraine is currently under the fire of the Russian Armed Forces, and it is extremely problematic to organize large-scale production of advanced weapons within the country.
Of course, it is possible to raise the issue of deploying humanoid production outside of Ukraine, in partner countries, but in this case, the problem of finding the necessary funds at least to start work and attract qualified labor is growing. In addition, it takes time to deploy production — and a lot of time — and Ukrainian humanoids, with the exception of prototypes and pre-production samples, may not get into this war.
And the country that masters all the necessary technologies and organizes the mass production of humanoids will certainly have the greatest chance of winning any armed confrontation in the near and distant future.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
