A drone like this is defending against 2-3 50-year-olds without military experience wading through a bombed out tree-line into almost certain death, because there are literal firing squads waiting if they don't. With a huge round like 12.7, all you have to do is fire pot shots in the general vicinity while drone pilots do the rest. Also, these can be life-savers for an outpost when weather conditions ground all drones.
This is a fluff piece, but these machines might become very real very soon. They're already used for resupply and dropping mines. We have plenty of videos of that from both sides. A few months ago we had a video of one of these taking out an infantry carrier. This is not vaporware. It's a bad approach at worst, but I wouldn't be surprised if this grows exponentially for many years to come.
There is no way this is honest or real, i.e., it somehow fought off a tactical unit trying to take the frontline that this drone was holding? Or was it just parked in some area where there was no tactical point of even taking the territory?
Just by virtue of its nature, a single drone and/or a well placed dumb grenade, not even to mention likely a smoke grenade could have easily defeated this thing within seconds of deployment if there was any interest in taking the area this toy was "controlling".
Someone is doing a literal con job to get military graft and fraud contracts.
I know I know, but this and that and not me nor you, yet here we are and this is just beginning.
They gathered some apples from a nearby tree, and apparently had set up a hard cider production facility.
Now I am not claiming all the facts stated in the article are verified by me, but I can imagine one of them got so lucky with drones and getting hidden from their view for prolonged time it could theoretically pull it off. Not sure about batteries/fuel/ammo part thought.
I wouldn't expect even a lightly informed mid-wit to think that this murderbot held the ground by itself; and I don't think the author expects that either. Thus something else is probably going on. To wit - puffery.
A Ukrainian unmanned ground vehicle armed with a machine gun maintained a frontline position for more than six weeks, underscoring how robotic systems are becoming an integral part of high-intensity warfare according to strike UGV company commander.
The remotely operated platform, designated the TW 12.7, was deployed to replace an infantry team at a contested crossroads, the commander of Ukraine’s “NC13” strike UGV company, who goes by Makar, told devDroid. Each day, the vehicle moved to the forward position to watch for Russian movements and deliver suppressive fire; each evening, it withdrew to a covered location.
Over the 45-day mission, the TW 12.7 responded to multiple calls for fire and “successfully carried out all of them,” Makar said. Russian forces were “constantly suppressed by the fire of the TW 12.7 droid,” preventing them from advancing through the sector.
The deployment highlights the increasing reliability of Ukraine’s domestically produced strike UGVs, which combine stabilized weapon stations, day-night optics, and remote-control links to maintain a persistent presence in exposed or lethal zones where human soldiers would face significant risk.
Makar, whose unit forms part of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said strike UGVs are now routinely employed to support infantry advances, reinforce defensive lines, and conduct sabotage tasks behind or near the front. Such systems, he argued, can remove some of the burden from infantry units engaged in continuous combat.
“These systems can provide support to infantry units, assist them during offensive actions, cover them during defensive actions, and carry out various sabotage tasks,” he said, adding that the TW 12.7 is currently “one of the best strike systems on the market that can be used in combat conditions.”
Ukraine’s accelerating use of ground robotics comes as both sides in the war experiment with remotely operated platforms for fire support, logistics, and explosive delivery. Kyiv has pushed domestic industry to rapidly develop new platforms to counter Russia’s numerical and firepower advantages.
Operator training has also become a critical element of Ukraine’s growing UGV capability. Those entering from civilian fields often require up to six weeks of instruction before being deployed. As a result, Makar said, losing experienced operators to unnecessary risks is not acceptable.
“Sending a person onto the battlefield to retrieve a robot, risking a life for a piece of metal—that’s unacceptable,” he noted. Instead, the brigade employs specialized evacuation modules or dispatches other UGVs to recover damaged equipment when possible.
To manage increasingly complex missions—sometimes involving several robots in a single operation—the unit consolidates operators in protected locations to improve coordination and maintain secure control links.
Makar spoke during a crash-test and live-fire evaluation aimed at pushing Ukrainian manufacturers to refine their platforms for front-line realities. During the event, UGVs were tasked with navigating a 6–7 km route, operating under restricted visibility from a remote bunker, and firing accurately after crossing uneven ground. Such conditions often expose weaknesses in sensors, turrets, or mobility systems.
“The goal is not to say ‘this one made it, this one didn’t,’” he said. “The goal is to put the manufacturer into our conditions.”
He encouraged defence companies to collaborate—combining strong chassis designs, advanced turrets, and reliable software—and to work closely with combat units to understand operational needs. “Criticism is the main thing that helps improve systems,” he said. “Solving problems gives us better systems on the battlefield.”
Source: devDroid