Robotics news

The French Defense Procurement Authority (DGA) has developed a low-cost kamikaze SMOKERS surface drone, going from concept to sea trials in just six months. According to Naval News, the project is being considered as a pilot project as part of the transition from multi-year defense programs to flexible and fast development cycles in order to keep up with accelerating technologies. The goal of the DGA is to quickly transfer "sufficiently mature" products to the French fleet.

The armed forces of several countries are testing military equipment with hydrogen power plants. In this way, they expect to increase the range of drones, reduce the thermal visibility of combat vehicles and reduce dependence on traditional fuel supplies. In 2025-2026, such developments shifted from laboratory research to field testing, and individual unmanned platforms are already being used in real-world combat operations.

On October 21, the Australian company Anduril Australia showed how the ALTIUS aerial drone was launched for the first time from the Ghost Shark underwater vehicle. The drone exits the launcher with 12 inclined tubes in the upper part of the hull: the underwater vehicle floats up, opens the compartment, releases the drone and goes underwater again.

Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — on how new developments of the Chinese Navy are changing the balance of power in the oceans

China has built a carrier ship for underwater drones. It is capable of supporting large drones using on-board equipment. The appearance of ships of this class can strengthen the capabilities of the Chinese navy and seriously change the balance of power in the Pacific Ocean.

The Russian army plans to create divisions of unmanned tanks. Such equipment has already been tested at the Center-2026 exercises at the Chebarkulsky training ground. How will these units be organized, what tasks will heavy combat robots be able to perform, and what limitations will their use on the battlefield face?

A military expert told when unmanned tanks may appear in the army

Unmanned armored vehicles units should appear in the Russian army, said Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Army General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.

Sun: Russia can easily disable underwater communications in Europe

Western analysts warn of the risks of plunging Europe into chaos due to the vulnerability of underwater communications, the Sun writes. Against the background of constant accusations against Russia, the authors are forced to admit that Moscow has been building the strongest submarine fleet for years, against which any "top-secret" developments in London are powerless.

New remote-controlled devices will help with the protection, restoration and repair of bridges

The railway troops received underwater remote-controlled vehicles, Izvestia found out. They are needed for the repair and inspection of pontoon and railway bridges, as well as for engineering exploration of the water area.

During the Center-2026 exercises, the Russian army officially introduced a number of innovations, including the Sturm heavy assault robotic system. He aroused great interest among foreign observers. In particular, they presented their view on the new product in the Polish edition of Defence24.

The discussion of the issues took place within the framework of a joint meeting of the Scientific and Technical Councils of Rostec and Roscosmos

RT-Techpriemka (part of Rostec State Corporation) has brought together representatives of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Roscosmos and Rosatom to coordinate work in the field of industrial robotics.

Military personnel will be taught how to control, program and repair air, land and sea robotic systems

The Russian Navy has begun training universal operators of unmanned systems. Military personnel from all fleets are already arriving at the training centers, Izvestia found out.

When he was Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Fedorov attached great importance to the development of the use of various robotic platforms of sea and land types along with UAVs to solve a wide range of logistical, reconnaissance and combat missions. After his retirement, he did not abandon these ideas. Recently, Fedorov announced the launch of an ambitious project to create an "army of robots" for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including a humanoid type.

The ANT-1000PM complex is equipped with a remotely controlled barrel, which allows extinguishing fires from a safe distance

The Rostec State Corporation's High-Precision Complexes Holding has shipped the first serial ANT-1000PM robotic fire extinguishing systems.

Onet: The unbalanced Polish army is not suitable for modern combat

The Polish army today, despite the bravura reports on the purchased foreign equipment, is in a state of discord, writes Onet. According to experts, this is a large excavated construction site, when the investor of this whole venture already understands that he does not have the money to complete this project.

Recently, both in Russia and in the West, there have been increasing statements about the development of a new generation of armored vehicles – and its main feature will be the use of artificial intelligence (AI). How exactly is AI able to increase the combat effectiveness of armored vehicles, to what extent is it able to replace some crew members, and what specific samples will "electronic brains" receive first of all?

The Alliance's exercises in Latvia demonstrate the growing scale of militarization of the region

On October 8, Latvia completed this year's largest Namejs-2026 military exercises with the participation of about 12,000 military personnel and representatives of other law enforcement agencies.

Coordinated actions of the latest military equipment were worked out at the Center-2026 exercises

During the active phase of the Center-2026 strategic command and staff exercises at the Chebarkulsky training ground (Chelyabinsk Region), Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown various achievements of the Russian defense industry during a training battle - many samples of military equipment were shown for the first time.

Rosoboronexport JSC (part of Rostec State Corporation) is launching the Nerekhta-E ground-based robotic complex developed and manufactured by the Degtyarev Plant.

In September, more than 10,000 samples of weapons, military and special equipment from enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the National Defense Industry Complex were delivered to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

At the recently completed Center-2026 exercises, the Ural Design Bureau Transmash showed what seemed like a fantasy until recently - a heavy assault robotic complex. Simply put, a tank is a drone.