(Marco Emanuele)
David Kirichenko scrive, per The Interpreter, della guerra in Ucraina e dell’uso massiccio della tecnologia. Molta attenzione è stata prestata ai droni, altrettanto va detto per l’impiego di veicoli terrestri senza pilota (UGV): in Ucraina, riporta l’Autore, sono presenti 280 aziende che li producono.
I numeri sono molto utili per capire: The 3rd Assault Brigade reportedly transported more than 200 tonnes of goods in one month alone using UGVs, the equivalent of 10,000 soldiers each carrying 20 kilograms to frontline positions. Colonel Anatolii Kulykivskyi has said that ground drones now handle 70% of the brigade’s frontline logistics. One Ukrainian soldier added that, in a single month, his unit used one Termit UGV for 18 sorties, spending a total of 88.5 hours on the move to provide logistical support to frontline positions. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said Ukrainian forces carried out more than 7,000 UGV missions in a single month. Brigadier General Andriy Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, has argued that units that actively integrate UGVs could reduce frontline infantry requirements by up to 30% by the end of 2026, which could reach up to 80% in the future. E ancora: Ukraine is also experimenting with combining robotic systems rather than using them separately. Kyiv recently showed a UGV designed to carry FPV drones to a concealed launch point and release them from the vehicle itself, which would allow ambushes from unexpected positions while keeping human operators farther from the front.
Per l’Ucraina, la sfida delle tecnologie in guerra è decisiva. Serve per implementare strategie asimettriche che aiutino a contrastare un avversario ben più potente dal punto di vista quantitativo. Se le tecnologie non potranno sostituire il fattore umano in guerra, e se incontrano ostacoli logistici rilevanti, l’utilizzo di strumenti innovativi può facilitare e migliorare l’efficacia delle operazioni belliche.
Più in generale, le tecnologie della nuova ondata attraversano ogni ambito della nostra vita, trasformandolo profondamente. Il caso ucraino mostra, ancora una volta, che, per quanto si possano raggiungere frontiere di efficienza attraverso la tecnologie, il controllo umano resta decisivo.
(English Version)
David Kirichenko writes for The Interpreter about the war in Ukraine and the widespread use of technology. Much attention has been paid to drones, but the same can be said of the use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs): in Ukraine, the author reports, there are 280 companies manufacturing them.
The figures are very useful for understanding the situation: The 3rd Assault Brigade reportedly transported more than 200 tonnes of goods in a single month using UGVs, the equivalent of 10,000 soldiers each carrying 20 kilograms to frontline positions. Colonel Anatolii Kulykivskyi has said that ground drones now handle 70% of the brigade’s frontline logistics. One Ukrainian soldier added that, in a single month, his unit used one Termit UGV for 18 sorties, spending a total of 88.5 hours on the move to provide logistical support to frontline positions. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said Ukrainian forces carried out more than 7,000 UGV missions in a single month. Brigadier General Andriy Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, has argued that units that actively integrate UGVs could reduce frontline infantry requirements by up to 30% by the end of 2026, a figure that could rise to 80% in the future. And further: Ukraine is also experimenting with combining robotic systems rather than using them separately. Kyiv recently demonstrated a UGV designed to transport FPV drones to a concealed launch point and release them from the vehicle itself, which would enable ambushes from unexpected positions whilst keeping human operators further from the front.
For Ukraine, the challenge of technology in warfare is decisive. It is needed to implement asymmetric strategies that help counter an adversary far more powerful in terms of numbers. Whilst technology cannot replace the human factor in war, and whilst it faces significant logistical hurdles, the use of innovative tools can facilitate and enhance the effectiveness of military operations.
More generally, the technologies of this new wave permeate every aspect of our lives, transforming them profoundly. The Ukrainian case demonstrates, once again, that, however far we may push the boundaries of efficiency through technology, human control remains decisive.
