16 May 2019 18:49

Combat robot Nerekhta confirms characteristics in military tests - Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects

MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - The combat robot Nerekhta confirms its characteristics in tests conducted by the Russian military, Oleg Martyanov, the head of the National Center for the Development of Technologies and Basic Robotic Technology Elements of the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects, said.

"It [Nerekhta] is being tested in the Defense Ministry, it confirms all its stated characteristics, and we do hope it will continue," Martyanov said in an interview with Interfax.

The combat robot Nerekhta was developed for the V.A.Degtyarev Plant in collaboration with the Foundation for Advanced Research Projects. Three modules have been developed for Nerekhta: combat, artillery reconnaissance and transport, the enterprise told Interfax. The combat module in various options is equipped with a 12.7 mm machine-gun Kord or a 7.62 mm tank machine-gun Kalashnikov. The module can be additionally equipped with the automatic grenade launcher AG-30M. The option of equipping the robot with heavy weapons, including anti-tank missiles, is also under consideration.

Col. Oleg Pomazuyev, the head of the Main Directorate for Research Activities, earlier told Interfax the Russian army will put the Nerekhta into service.

The Nerekhta underwent tests in winter conditions in the 467th inter-arm district training center of the Western Military District in December 2017. According to the Defense Ministry, the purpose of the tests is to determine "the place of the combat robot in the structure of the units of the Ground Forces in all-arms combat."

Information on several combat robots developed for the Russian army is currently available. Among them is the sapper robot Uran-6, the combat robots Uran-9, Nerekhta, Soratnik, Kungas, Platfroma-M, and Argo. According to Russian Defense Ministry reports, the robots Uran-6 and Uran-9 were used in the Russian military operation in Syria. These robots also took part in the Victory Parade on the red Square in 2018.