Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (MOU) announced on its website on Monday that it has codified and approved for operational use by its ground forces of another Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – the KRAMPUS mobile flamethrower assault system.
The ground drone is intended for the all-weather use on assault and defensive missions. It is described as a compact, lightweight system that is easily transported in a pickup truck, minibus, or trailer. It is equipped with two near-silent electric motors and uses tracks that have been fully tested by maneuvering on and off-road, through forest ed areas, sandy terrain, swamps, and over steep slopes.
The MOU statement said that “The system has robust control channels, works in cold, heat, snow, and rain. The platform’s battery capacity is enough for several hours of continuous movement. Thanks to this, it can work at a position in [standby and] duty mode for long periods of time.”
The UGV is equipped with video cameras and carries the RPV-16 infantry flamethrower, produced by Ukroboronprom in 2017 and which entered service with Ukraine’s armed forces in October 2018. The weapon projects a rocket propelled thermobaric warhead designed to attack personnel, light vehicles and equipment and structures. On striking a target, the warhead detonates and disperses an 8-meter (26.2 feet) aerosol cloud that forms a 2500°C fireball.
Ukraine posted a YouTube video produced by Army TV that showed the 118th Mechanized Brigade demonstrating the use of the RPV-16 flamethrower in close combat situations:
According to MOU it has codified and approved more than 80 UGVs, since the start of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion – the majority of which were designed and manufactured in Ukraine.
Domestic ground-based robots are used to carry various weapons used in assaults, as well as kamikaze strikes, reconnaissance, mine-laying and demining operations, and logistics, casualty evacuation, patrolling, and other tasks.
The number of KRAMPUS units available for deployment have not been released, but defense officials said it represents a move to integrate more UGVs to act independently and to provide fire support for missions.