Specialists of the Lava unmanned systems regiment, part of the 2nd Corps of Ukraine's National Guard Khartiia, are developing ground robots to scout and fight inside underground gas pipelines, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reports, citing UNITED24 Media.
The robots have to be small enough to move through narrow pipes, unlike most machines for underground work, which are built for tunnelling and drilling. They are meant to take over dangerous tasks such as reconnaissance, combat and clearing enemy positions.
Khartiia links the work to Operation Veles near Kupiansk, in which Ukrainian troops moved more than 15 kilometres through underground utilities to reach the rear of Russian units. The commander of the regiment's ground robot battalion, call sign Matematik, said fighting underground is already happening and will grow.
