Beyond the immense human tragedy that is a war, that of Ukraine It is defining how those of the 21st century will be. The role of Unmanned systemsboth aerial and land and sailors, the dynamics of conflicts have changed and a good example of this is The recent case of 3 Ukraine soldiers trapped behind the enemy lines that were rescued by a robot in a high -risk operation which also involved drones bombers, recognition, electronic war (EW) and half a hundred soldiers to save them.
According to the Ukrainian media United24media, the event took place in the vicinity of the city of Kupiansk. This was taken by Russian soldiers in the first bars of the invasion; Ukraine recovered it in September 2022 and, since then, Russia presses on her to pave the way to Járkiv.
Trapped in the gray zone
In an armed conflict, The so -called gray zone is the territory of the front line that is not controlled by any of the forces in combat. With the months, and pushed by the use of drones by both sides, the area has been expanded in a way that complicates or makes it impossible for supplies logistics chain and the rotation of troops. This is what happened to 3 soldiers that were surrounded by the troops of Russia at the end of Februarywithout the possibility of moving without being detected and dejected. Russia’s electronic warfare systems, its artillery fire and the constant surveillance of drones further complicated the situation.
The Ukraine Army decided to use a robotic platform –Ardal 920developed by the Ukrainian company Burevii– For the rescue operation. It was carried out by the 92th assault brigade and the 154th mechanized brigade, Involving 50 soldiers.
The role of the Robot Ardal 920 in the rescue
Ardal 920 is a Terrestrial drone of compact caterpillars with frame structure. That is, an open metal structure on which different configurations are installed. According to the chosen one, Ardal 920 can be used as Logistics platform, weapons, such as DESCINER or for wounded evacuation. The latter was chosen for this mission.
This robot variant can transport a load of Up to 250 kilograms, enough to be used by the 3 soldiers. Although it is driven by two 1,000 w engines, its maximum speed is 14 km/h and his acoustic firm of 65 dBwhat is considered moderate. It is the equivalent of the noise level of a busy office or how traffic is perceived from inside a vehicle, and one more difficulty next to low speed.
Ardal 920 has an autonomy between 15 and 17 kilometers with a battery, and 30 km if you use a double. It has directional antennas to communicate that give it a range of 6.5 kmbut you can also use Starlink No scope restrictions. You can overcome trenches up to 80 centimetersobstacles of up to 30 and overcome pending up to 30 degreesvery useful capabilities in an area devastated by artillery. Its size is 1.62 meters long, 1.07 wide and 1.38 high.
The rescue operation
To be able to carry out the rescue, which It was done over several days Without the medium specify how many, it was essential distract Russian troops and bring their attention elsewhere. For this, aerial means of recognition were deployed, a swarm of bombing drones and other UAVS, along with electronic war tools and signal intelligence (Sigint, for its acronym in English).
To reach the trapped soldiers and return them, Ardal 920 had to Tour a total of 17 kilometers within the ‘Gray Zone’. Despite the EW media in Russia, and with the assistance of recognition drones, the robot reached its position. The soldiers lay on the Transportation Platform of Ardal 920, thus being able to maintain a low profile that served to hide them from the enemy soldiers. Slowly and dodging the enemy, Ardal managed to bring them back, without suffering damage or robot damageand were taken to a hospital where they were treated.