A shot in the right direction

The US already has thousands of military robots and unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan. As for the prospect of killer robots stalking the battlefield – Russia is catching up, with a Russian team building one too.
The US has been using unmanned drones for a number of years, and now it is testing land-based robots in Iraq and Afghanistan, which despite being in their early stages, are showing a lot of potential.
But military forces around the world are not ignoring robot technology either. A Russian team from Moscow’s Bauman Technical University has been at work to build one too.
The team's first creation was a bomb-detecting and destroying robot. First it analyses the package with sensors, and then destroys whatever explosives are inside with high-powered water jets.
Having succeeded with their first creation, they then moved on to a military spy robot. It is able to look around corners and up into first floor windows with an extendable camera. Then, if it needs to call in fire support to tackle the bad guys, it calls on a partner robot – like the MRK-27 BT, equipped with a machine-gun, two grenade launchers and two rocket launchers.
In fact, these creations are the latest in a long history of robot development in Russia, which is a good deal longer than one might think.
“In 1938, Russian robot tanks were invented. They took part in the Russian Finnish war,” Anatoly Dmitrievich, former robot developer and expert, told RT. “The person who controlled it was in a shelter pressing buttons. He was able to see the tank and control it, the tank attacked and shot on its own.”
But despite this early innovation, Russian robot development has been largely ignored since the 1970s.
The US took the lead and now has thousands of robots operating in Afghanistan.
The team at Bauman Technical University wants Russia to catch up. But will their robot meet with approval from the Russian army?
“I cannot give you a definite answer if this robot will be used in our army, but we hope so,” said robot designer Ilya Laverichev. “Maybe not this exact model, but something improved, modified and modernized.”

FROM--RT

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Russian robotic soldier revealed

A prototype track-mounted combat platform tailored to use Russian weapons has been unveiled at an arms show in Moscow. Producers say it beats the similar American bot widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.
The bot, called MRK-27-BT, was produced by the robotics lab of the Moscow Bauman Technical University. It was shown to the public at the Interpolitex- arms exhibition.
MRK-27-BT’s standard armament includes two Shmel rocket launchers, two grenade launchers, a Pecheneg machine gun with a 100 round ammunition belt, and six smoke grenades. It is operated with a couple of joysticks and has a maximum range of 500 meters. All the weapons are standard issue used by human soldiers and can be detached in the field.

The project is similar to SWORDS, a weaponized version of Foster-Miller’s TALON platform. While the platform is extensively used by US military for disposing of explosives and other tasks, the real weapon-wielding bot was never used in actual combat.
Russian developers say their project beats the American counterpart in mobility and speed thanks to a superior track design. Its weapon mount is more flexible and can extend over a foxhole edge. It also has a built-in recoil suppressor. At the same time the Russian robot is larger, standing 1.5 meters tall with its mount raised, while SWORDS is barely knee high.
Designers hope that Russian Defense Ministry will order a trial series of the platform. However, according to RIA Novosti’s sources, top brass want a developed doctrine about the use of combat robots before committing.

FROM--RT

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Russia revives Caspian Sea Monster

The Russian government has commissioned the renewal of the “Caspian Sea Monster,” the legendary ground effect vehicle (GEV). Only 30 such crafts were built in the Soviet Union over two decades.
The revival of GEV production was announced by the Alekseev design and construction bureau, which used to be the leading producer of such vehicles. According to its production branch director, Evgeny Meleshko, the bureau is working on a big model. It will spend two years making the new design with the first tests to be launched in 2012.
“For our company it’s a big project, and most of our specialists will be working on it,” Meleshko told Interfax news agency.

GEVs are high-speed naval vehicles that fly just over the surface thanks to a high-pressure air cushion created by its wings. The first prototype with a wingspan of 37.6 meters and a hull length of about 100 meters could travel at 250 knots and had a maximum take-off weigh of 544 tons.
The Soviet Union produced several models, including one for amphibian troops transportation and a cruise missile carrier. There was also a project for a strategic GEV armed with ballistic missiles.
FROM--RT

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New Russian strategic bomber expected in 15-20 years

A new strategic bomber for Russia’s long-range aviation is scheduled to be ready for deployment by 2025-2030, the military branch’s head said.
The bomber will use stealth technology extensively to reach the minimal radar cross-section for an aircraft of its class, told journalists Major General Anatoly Zhikharev.
The vehicle, developed by the Tupolev design bureau, will have both nuclear and precision weapons capabilities, and systems for air defense suppression. It will also be able to use a wide range of airfields for take-off and landing, including those with unpaved runways.

The new aircraft is intended as a replacement for strategic bomber models currently in service in the Russian Air Forces, like the Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3.
Maksim Pyadushkin, editor in chief of aviation magazine Russia and CIS Observer, says that, since the current Russian military bombers are very old, there is an obvious need for new weaponry.
“We don’t know much about this future bomber at the moment, because, as far as I understand, the development is in its initial stage," Pyadushkin told RT. "It looks like Russian militaries are just defining their requirements for the new aircraft. So, we don’t know how it will look like. It will certainly be supersonic, will certainly have stealth technology and will carry high-precision weapons.”

FROM-RT

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