Russia ups cash reward for capturing Estonian ground robot in Ukraine

MILAN — A Russian defense industry think tank has reportedly upped a cash reward for the capture of an Estonian-made unmanned ground vehicle operating in Ukraine, as ground robots are becoming prized assets on the battlefield.

The Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) first announced in 2022 that a reward of one million rubles, or roughly $11,000, would be given to any military personnel seizing a THeMIS vehicle, made by Edge Group subsidiary Milrem Robotics, in relatively intact condition.

On Feb. 15, the center’s director, Ruslan Pukhov, told state-owned news agency RIA Novosti that the award would be raised to two million rubles, or almost $22,000.

The decision, Pukhov told RIA Novosti, was in response to a statement made by Estonian intelligence connecting the think tank to the Russian intelligence services.

He was referring to a recent report by the Baltic nation’s foreign intelligence service claiming that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) was recruiting national academics and think tank experts who interact with foreign embassies.

The report directly targets Pukhov as a “protagonist” in this development, stating that he also has “extensive connections within Russia’s political leadership and the Russian Ministry of Defense.”

As of last month, Milrem had delivered 15 THeMIS unmanned vehicles to Ukraine’s forces, the company said in a Jan. 11 statement.

Company executives have said that the unmanned vehicles were performing especially well in missions related to demining and frontline cargo transport, citing feedback from Ukrainian soldiers.

Manufacturer Milrem is aware of the bounty placed on its vehicles, but executives say they are unfazed about the prospect of technology theft .

“Seems like I don’t have to work again this week since CAST has doubled their reward for capturing a THeMIS in Ukraine for 2 million rubles, thus doing marketing for me,” Gert Hankewitz, director of communications at Milrem, posted on LinkedIn this week.

In additional comments provided to Defense News, Hankewitz said that the company has “complete confidence in the Ukrainian army to utilize their THeMIS UGVs to their full capabilities and safeguard them against potential threats.”

The development speaks to the robot craze that seems to have grasped both sides in the Ukraine war. With troop or vehicle movements immediately detected and attacked, soldiers have resorted to sending robots on dangerous missions instead, according to analysts.

While some of these ground robots possess more advanced capabilities, as is the case for the THeMIS, others that have emerged on the battlefield are very basic in their design but yet appear to be effective in their logistics role.

Even with the special Russian interest in its THeMIS technology, Milrem said the company is ready to send more. “We look forward to providing additional systems in support of Ukraine if requested,” Hankewitz said.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——据报道，俄罗斯国防工业智库提高了对在乌克兰境内作业的爱沙尼亚制造的无人地面车辆的赏金，因为地面机器人正成为战场上的重要资产。

总部位于莫斯科的战略与技术分析中心 (CAST) 于 2022 年首次宣布，任何缴获由 Edge Group 子公司 Milrem Robotics 制造的 THeMIS 车辆且车辆状况相对完好的军事人员将获得 100 万卢布（约合 11,000 美元）的奖励。

2月15日，该中心主任鲁斯兰·普霍夫告诉俄罗斯国家通讯社俄新社，奖金将提高到200万卢布，约合2.2万美元。

普霍夫告诉俄罗斯新闻社，这一决定是对爱沙尼亚情报部门发表的一份声明的回应，该声明将该智库与俄罗斯情报部门联系起来。

他指的是波罗的海国家对外情报部门最近的一份报告，该报告声称俄罗斯联邦安全局（FSB）正在招募与外国使馆有联系的本国学者和智库专家。

该报告直接将普霍夫列为这一事态发展的“主角”，并指出他还“与俄罗斯政治领导层和俄罗斯国防部有着广泛的联系”。

米尔雷姆公司在 1 月 11 日的一份声明中表示，截至上个月，该公司已向乌克兰军队交付了 15 辆 THeMIS 无人驾驶车辆。

公司高管表示，根据乌克兰士兵的反馈，无人驾驶车辆在排雷和前线货物运输等任务中表现尤为出色。

制造商 Milrem 知道有人悬赏盗窃其车辆，但高管们表示，他们对技术被盗的可能性并不感到担忧。

“看来我这周不用再工作了，因为 CAST 将乌克兰 THeMIS 捕获奖励翻了一番，达到 200 万卢布，相当于帮我做了市场推广，”Milrem 的传播总监 Gert Hankewitz 本周在 LinkedIn 上发帖说。

汉克维茨在向《防务新闻》提供的补充评论中表示，该公司“完全相信乌克兰军队能够充分发挥其THeMIS无人地面车辆的性能，并保护它们免受潜在威胁”。

这一发展表明，乌克兰战争双方似乎都对机器人趋之若鹜。分析人士指出，由于部队或车辆的移动会立即被发现并遭到攻击，士兵们转而派遣机器人执行危险任务。

虽然有些地面机器人拥有更先进的功能，例如 THeMIS，但战场上出现的其他一些机器人设计非常基础，但在后勤保障方面却似乎很有效。

尽管俄罗斯对米尔雷姆公司的THeMIS技术表现出浓厚的兴趣，但该公司表示已准备好提供更多设备。“如果乌克兰提出要求，我们期待提供更多系统以支持其发展，”汉克维茨说道。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。