Russia Testing Unmanned Vehicles Loaded With Anti-Tank Missiles

Russia is testing new unmanned ground vehicles armed with anti-tank missiles in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.

On Friday, former Russian space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin posted footage to Telegram of what appears to be the Marker unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) firing test Kornet anti-tank missiles.

Back in January, Rogozin, who now heads up the Tsar Wolves military group, said the Marker platform would undergo a "baptism of fire" through testing in the Donbas. In an interview with Russian state media, Rogozin pitted the Marker vehicles, and their anti-tank missiles, against NATO-standard main battle tanks shortly after the U.S. and Germany announced they would commit Abrams and Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

"As soon as deliveries of Abrams and Leopard tanks to the Ukrainian troops begin, the Marker will receive the corresponding electronic image and will be able to automatically detect and hit American and German tanks," Rogozin told RIA Novosti. Russia has previously claimed that Kornet anti-tank missiles can take out the German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

But the tests publicized by Rogozin on Friday are unlikely to match the environments the Marker combat robot will face further down the line, according to military technology expert Samuel Bendett.

"The tests are conducted in an open field," without rubble, ditches, or buildings, he wrote on Twitter. Although Ukraine does have such open spaces, "it's likely that in a real fight, the Marker will have a more complicated environment to traverse," he added.

The Marker is also firing the anti-tank missiles while stationary, Bendett noted. It is more likely to be moving when in an actual combat scenario, he said.

On Friday, Russian state news outlets reported that the Marker would enter "serial production" for use in Ukraine. Fitted with the Kornet anti-tank missile system, the combat robot will be "quickly launched" for use by Russian forces in the war, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Rogozin said on February 2 that four of the Marker combat robots had arrived in Ukraine "strictly on schedule."

Bendett previously told Newsweek that the AI-enabled Marker combat robot was developed to replace fighters in dangerous missions and to make these operations more effective.

"The whole point of building such systems is to make them expendable," he added.