The Russian military’s Rubicon unit, created to develop new drone warfare techniques, has carried out a strike on a Ukrainian armored vehicle in Russia’s Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, releasing a video of the test.
The strike apparently took place at night, while a reconnaissance drone observed at a short distance. The military disclosed only its general location and the unit that deployed the unidentified first-person view (FPV) weapon.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov launched the Rubicon center in August. The facility is meant to introduce new technologies for drone warfare into the Russian military, utilizing field experience in the Ukraine conflict.
The hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have been marked by the large-scale use of cheap robotic aircraft, previously unseen in international conflicts. This has facilitated the rapid advancement of the technology by both sides. Frontline troops are making some of the innovations, testing new creative ways of deploying unmanned aircraft.
Rubicon has been tasked with screening such ideas and refining those it deems the most promising for industrial-scale application, according to the ministry. It also seeks ways to make drone piloting less arduous for operators, a flying an FPV aircraft for a long time can be disorienting. Another part of the Rubicon mission is developing algorithmic software tools to analyze intelligence collected by long-endurance drones for target acquisition.
Belousov toured the new facility last month. Rubicon crews had destroyed some 400 Ukrainian heavy weapons and struck twice as many other targets, the ministry reported at the time.