A Ukrainian company is creating a drone truck that can remotely drive up to the battlefield and rain .50 caliber rounds on its target, all without needing a human driver or gun operator on board.
Ukrainian Armored Vehicles, based in Kyiv, released footage on Monday of the Protector, its uncrewed ground vehicle, conducting firing range tests with a Tavria-12.7 turret.
The Tavria-12.7 is a remotely controlled turret that uses the M2 Browning machine gun. Like most remote-controlled gun turrets, it’s typically mounted on armored carriers with human operators inside, allowing them to shoot from the safety of the vehicle’s interior.
But by combining the two uncrewed technologies, Ukrainian Armored Vehicles said it’s turned its drone truck into a “full-fledged combat unit.”
“We got good results both in static shooting and in moving shooting from different distances,” Vladyslav Belbas, the firm’s general director, said in the company’s statement.
Both the Protector and Tavria-12.7 have already been codified, or approved for military use, by Ukraine’s defense ministry. The measure allows Ukrainian units and developers to officially acquire and integrate these weapons and platforms into active combat.
According to the defense ministry, the Protector can be remotely driven for up to 400 km, or about 250 miles, and carry a payload of 700 kg, or 1,543 pounds.
Without the need for a driver’s cabin, there’s enough space for roughly eight people to sit on the Protector’s bed.
When the truck was unveiled in September 2024, Ukrainian Armored Vehicles said it featured NATO-standard Level 1 ballistic protection, which means it can withstand fire from rifles or smaller caliber guns, but not armor-piercing or heavy machine gun rounds.
The company added at the time that the Protector’s 190-horsepower engine can bring the truck to a top speed of 37 miles per hour.
As for the Tavria-12.7, Ukraine’s defense ministry said in November 2024 that the turret can operate at night or during the day, and is protected by armor that can withstand small arms fire and shrapnel.
The Protector was initially presented as a logistics drone, allowing Ukrainians to evacuate the wounded or carry vital equipment in areas that would be dangerous for human soldiers.
But Ukrainian Armored Vehicles also hinted at the time that the truck could be used as a combat vehicle, releasing renderings of the Protector mounted with machine guns or anti-tank missiles.
Uncrewed ground vehicles, or UGVs, have proliferated on Ukraine’s battlefield as the war remains largely stagnant, with slow, grinding fights over small pieces of territory along the front lines.
Both sides are now increasingly turning to automation and cheap, remotely controlled tech to reduce attrition among their resources and troops. Russian soldiers have also been deploying their own UGVs.
In the last two years, Ukrainian developers have debuted combat UGVs that are typically tracked or smaller, wheeled platforms carrying rifles, gun turrets, or missile launchers.
A truck-based platform should be faster than most of its competitors and allow the ground drone to carry significantly more weight, although its larger profile may make it easier to spot and hit.
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