The strategic command and staff exercises “Center-2026” witnessed the display of a range of ground robotic systems, including, for the first time, an unmanned tank and the “Shturm” vehicle designed to support infantry.
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They are the heaviest unmanned armored vehicles currently available in the Russian army, but it is not unlikely that they will soon be joined by the 55-ton T-14 Armata tank, which is built on the multi-purpose tracked Armata platform developed by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod.
The world is currently witnessing a rapid development of the concept of what is known as manned and unmanned combat vehicles, i.e. armored vehicles, troop carriers and self-propelled guns capable of operating with a crew inside them, with the possibility of converting them when needed into vehicles that are remotely controlled using a joystick.
Russian designers are at the forefront of this trend, drawing on extensive experience in developing such systems. For example, experiments have been conducted using the T-80 tank platform, which has been equipped with a combat variant and engineering equipment. Various unmanned models of the T-72 tank, the most widely used production tank in the Russian army, have also been tested.
The T-14 Armata tank, with its unmanned turret and open digital architecture, is ideally suited for developing a robotic version. Reports indicate that such tests have already been successfully conducted.
Similar research and experiments are also being conducted in NATO countries. For example, the REFURBOT unmanned land robot system, developed based on the older AMX-30 vehicle, was unveiled at the Eurosatory exhibition last June.
However, the adoption of a manual loading mechanism in the original design prompted the developers to remove the turret equipped with a 105 mm cannon and replace it with a 25 mm automatic cannon, which greatly limits the combat capabilities of the vehicle.
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