Just as you thought that Kalashnikov has already reached its ultimate zenith after making the AK-47 rifle, the company is set to be reaching new heights as it has recently announced its bold plan of making an unmanned 20-ton 'robot' tank capable of carrying both machine guns and anti-tank missiles. During the Russian Army 2016 Expo that happened last September, the firm unveiled its first battle bot dubbed as the BAS-01G Soratnik, which means "Comrade-in-arms". Kalashnikov said that it has also expanded into vodka, souvenirs, fashion and video games, but the company's primary focus is still about military weapons where the company has been made well-known.
Kalashnikov's Unmanned Combat Vehicle
According to Digital Trends, the plan for the unmanned combat ground vehicle, or UCGV, is to carry machine guns and anti-tank missiles, and weigh in at 20 tons. Given the fact that the company has previously debuted its 7-ton BAS-01G Soratnik unmanned vehicle in December, showing off its impressive capabilities to the Russian Ministry of Defense, which, in turn, has outfitted with four anti-tank rockets and a machine gun, Kalashnikow is considerably not a stranger when it comes to UCGVs. Now, the new UCGV is slated to be as big as U.S. Army M1126 Stryker ICV, which is roughly three times the size of the old Soratnik.
With the new UCGV, Daily Mail reported that it doesn't just enable soldiers to operate the machine remotely within six miles, but it can also operate on its own with varying degrees of autonomy. It was found that the company's CEO has first revealed its plans for the massive machine in an interview with TACC, a Russian news site after being asked if the firm had plans for other combat automated systems besides the first Soratnik. In one of his statements, Alexei Krivoruchko, Kalashnikov Concern CEO has revealed that these works are already underway being a reconnaissance-strike complex that would weigh 20 tons as compared to its previous 7-ton combat vehicle.
What Else Do We Have To Know?
As of the press time, it remains unclear as to how the new 20-ton monstrosity will perform in terms of speed. However, the bigger question lies to how much autonomy such a drone tank should be given, and while the company is yet to reveal any particular detail, the previous model was found to have the ability of carrying out specific tasks without human intervention.
