Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) will soon deploy the D-21-12R ground robotic complex, a new domestically produced robot armed with a heavy machine gun.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense announced the development in a statement on April 7, confirming that the system has been officially codified and approved for use in the AFU.
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“The Defense Ministry has codified and approved for operation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Ukrainian-made D-21-12R ground robotic complex... The complex is equipped with a large-caliber machine gun,” the statement says.
In the photo released by the ministry, the robot can be seen equipped with a US-made Browning .50-caliber heavy machine gun, commonly known as “Ma Deuce” among US troops.
It is unclear if other heavy machine guns, such as the Soviet DShK, can be adopted for the turret.
According to the ministry, the D-21-12R is designed to carry out various tasks, such as surveillance, patrolling, providing fire support for Ukrainian units, and engaging enemy personnel and light armored vehicles.
The ministry also said the robot can operate across rough terrain, such as swamps and obstacles in shallow water, conditions often found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The robot is remotely operated, and troops can operate it from a protected shelter at a safe distance, the ministry added.
The ministry is rapidly expanding its use of ground-based robotic systems on the battlefield, with plans to deliver 15,000 units in 2025, a major boost compared to previous years.
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While full-scale deployment is still limited by technical challenges such as connectivity, off-road performance and operator training, Ukraine is betting heavily on robots to reduce risk to its troops.
Hlib Kanevsky, head of the ministry’s procurement department, said production would surge to meet the growing demand for surveillance, fire support, logistics and evacuation robots.
Ukraine has already approved several domestically developed systems for military use, including the compact “Lyut” combat robot, the logistics-focused “Zmiy,” and the turret-armed “Tavria” robot.
In the first quarter of 2025, Kyiv’s contract spending on robotic warfare reached $150 million, according to government data.
In early February, Ukrainian defense firm Frontline announced that its “Burya” (Ukrainian for “Storm”) remote-controlled grenade launcher turret had entered serial production.
Mounted on a tracked platform or tripod, the 47-kilogram “Burya” can be equipped with Ukrainian UAH-40 or US Mk 19 grenade launchers. Controlled via tablet or laptop, it can track up to 16 targets simultaneously and switch between them in seconds, according to its manufacturer.
The system reportedly has a firing range of 2 kilometers and holds up to 64 grenades via a belt-fed system.
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