Combat Robots Take Part In Live-Fire Exercise For The First Time In Estonia

Milrem combat robots supported the live-fire practice exercise in Estonia.

The real Modern Warfare is here showing some action as to what the future battles would be like, the Estonian Defence Force used two Milrem robotics which performed supporting roles concerning situational awareness, fire, and the evacuation of the dead bodies.

In the exercise, the ground troops were seen conducting a maneuver to fight back a simulated incoming armor attack, the scene involved the robots in action rooting for their side and retaliating back at the enemies.

THeMIS in the battle scene had the role of supplying ammunition to the anti-tank team. Its deployment also involved providing support fire with a 7.62 mm machine gun for the observer teams as they moved forward. On the other hand, a THeMIS Observe UGV sent an Acecore tethered drone to provide timely situational analysis to the artillery. Along with the combat performance, the drone also performed as a live-fire safety monitor.

After destroying the primary target, THeMIS then performed the role of an ambulance to evacuate the causalities of the scene. The multi-role action of the robots was controlled using a hand-held interface and an augmented reality headset.

“We found several benefits in including UGVs into our battle scenario,” says Lieutenant Mari-Li Kapp, Commander of operations and training section (S3) in the Artillery Battalion. “Having UGVs as a part of the reconnaissance force that prepares the arrival of the main unit, the UGVs could secure the indirect fire and anti-tank teams by providing direct fire support during an engagement and whilst some units are withdrawing. UGVs could also act as front guards all by themselves since they can provide situational awareness and act as forwarding observers for indirect fire.”

Watch the video below showing the robots in action in the war scene in Estonia.

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