Russia recently published information about the updated robotic platform "Marker". The "Marker" is not a combat robot, but an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle for use on rough terrain. This minitank can be used to support infantry or to launch "kamikaze drones".
Russia has been working on the creation of combat robots and drones for many years. At the same time, she achieved the greatest success in the development of the Marker platform. You can use it to practice actions during a potential robot war
While the political circles of Germany strongly oppose the purchase of combat drones, autonomous ground combat robots are being developed all over the world. Rheinmetall, for example, managed to present the concept of its Wolfsrudel combat vehicle as part of the Mission Master project.
Since combat robots must be well-oriented in difficult conditions on the ground and work together with other robots, their development is more difficult than the development of air systems. Now the goal is not to create remotely controlled drones that receive commands from the operator, but systems that can operate autonomously.
Russia recently published new information about the updated Marker platform. "Marker" is not a combat robot. According to the head of the Foundation for Advanced Research Andrey Grigoriev, we are talking about an open platform on which you can test future generations of combat robots. ""Marker" is a robotic platform for testing the latest technologies for the production of combat robots of two generations, which are currently only at the concept stage. The "Marker" is also a concept developed, in particular, for testing third -, fourth-and fifth-generation technologies. However, specific vehicles are eventually developed by the Ministry of Defense, " explains Grigoriev.
Technical platform for the development of
At the same time, it became known that the Russian army adopted combat drones of the Uran-9 type. The "Marker" was tested in the snow-covered Chelyabinsk region. At the same time, the "Marker" independently overcame the return journey of 30 kilometers.
The unmanned ground vehicle received the coordinates of the target. Its control system ensured the arrival of the platform to the target within a half hour, and she focused on the technical data of the imaging system, which is based on algorithms of the neural network, as stated in the message of the advanced research Foundation: "an Autonomous traffic management platform provides independent movement and change the routing in the case of obstacles: trees, hills, ravines and shrubs".
The technical properties of the platform ensure its autonomous operation for up to 48 hours on roads and up to 24 hours on rough terrain. As part of further tests, the Marker platform will be tested at distances of 50, 100 and 200 kilometers. In addition, the joint actions of the "Marker" with ground robots, unmanned ground vehicles, as well as with special forces will be practiced.
Use in Syria
It is said that Russia has already deployed its combat robots in Syria, although this information is not confirmed. At the same time, they were supposedly successfully tested as armed reconnaissance vehicles. The attack of the armed robots forced the defending side to declassify their defensive positions, which were later destroyed by artillery. However, when using the latest technology in a street battle, there were serious problems with data transmission.
The current version of the "Marker" was first shown to the public at the end of 2019. Like other similar developments, this is a minitank. It is noteworthy that the latest model is larger than the previous models of 2015 and 2016.
As a rule, these were unmanned vehicles for supporting infantry, capable of accompanying a group of soldiers and supporting them with heavy machine gun fire. The "Marker" can also be used independently and equipped with various types of weapons. In one case, it is a machine gun developed by the Kalashnikov Design Bureau, and anti-tank missiles.
The video shows a joint work with an infantry soldier, information about which is transmitted to the robot.
Minitank with chains
The Russians rely on a chain drive, not on wheels, like the machine developed by Rheinmetall as part of the Mission Master project. The "Marker" has four wheels, a roller-switch and a transmission gear. In principle, moving over rough terrain is more efficient on a chain drive, but such transport consumes more energy, and its maintenance is more expensive.
In the front part of the platform there is a drive, in the rear part loads are transported. Among other things, the "Marker" can launch a group of small reconnaissance drones. In addition, it can serve as a carrier for "kamikaze drones" developed by the Kalashnikov concern. These machines, designed for one-time use, fall on the target from the air and explode.
Gernot Kramper)
