Robotic Demining System Enters Russian Army Service

The new robotic mine clearance systems has become operational with Russia's Southern Military District, Sputnik reported.

The Uran-6 sophisticated robotic demining system is a multipurpose system which is powerful enough to replace 20 sappers and which can be remotely operated from a safe distance of about one kilometer.

Equipped with bulldozer blades and trawls, the Uran-6 detects, identifies and destroys mines containing up to 60 kilograms of TNT.

Depending on the tasks assigned, sappers will be able to use one of the five sweeping devices of the 20-ton robot, FARS News reported quoting the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

Despite such a heavy weight, running the Uran-6 is an easy job, the newspaper said, adding that quick identification of mines is the robot's primary feature.

For example, this robot system is capable of distinguishing an air bomb from an artillery shell or an anti-tank mine, something that the Rossiyskaya Gazeta said sappers have never seen before.

In addition, the Uran-6 can destroy an explosive device with special weapons, which adds significantly to extending the robot's service life-span.

The new system is currently used by a 300-stong sapper brigade of the Southern Military District dealing with the demining of some areas in the Russian Caucasus republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia.