MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax-AVN) - A decision to commission Nerekhta, Soratnik and Uran-9 combat robots will be made after a full series of tests, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Department on R&D and Engineering Support to Advanced Technologies Alexander Mironov told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"We have scheduled comparative tests of those robots for July. The range of test subjects may even be broadened," Mironov said.
Some of the tested robots may not be adopted by the army, he said, adding that they would verify the robots' compliance with performance characteristics.
"None of them has passed state tests as of yet. Every company claims that its robot is the best, so the future testing will show which product is actually superior," Mironov said.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax in an interview in March that the Russian army would be supplied with combat robots.
For his part, Ground Forces Commander Col. Gen. Oleg Salyukov announced the pending establishment of new units to operate and to service robots.
The Degtyarev Plant has been designing the Nerekhta combat robot together with the Future Research Fund. Three modules - combat, artillery reconnaissance and transport - are being created for Nerekhta, the plant told Interfax. Various modifications of the combat module are armed with a 12.7mm Kord machinegun and a 7.62mm Kalashnikov tank machinegun. An AG-30m automatic grenade launcher may also be installed in the robot. A modification carrying heavy armaments, such as anti-tank missiles, is under consideration.
Soratnik is a product of Kalashnikov Group. It can be used as a fire support, reconnaissance or evacuation vehicle or as an ammo and fuel truck. The 7-tonne robot can move at up to 40 kilometers per hour. The range of operation reaches 10 kilometers in case of remote control and radio line of sight. The combat module can carry various types of weapons, such as 7.62mm and 12.7mm machineguns, a 30mm AG-17A grenade launcher, and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
The Uran-9 combat robot is being designed by 766 UPTK company for reconnaissance, fire support and anti-tank warfare. Uran-9 can destroy targets on a range of 5,000 meters in the daytime and 3,000 meters at night. The 12-tonne vehicle is armed with a 30mm 2A72 automatic gun, a 7.62mm machinegun, Shmel-M flamethrowers and an Ataka complex armed with guided anti-tank missiles.