The 49th Separate Assault Battalion “Karpatska Sich” is holding the line on the Toretsk direction, where fierce fighting continues. Delivering ammunition and provisions to the front for assault units has become markedly more challenging. Military vehicles are being hunted by enemy FPV drones and hit by artillery.
Ground‐based wheeled drones can help address this challenge. Most brigades are fielding them. These mini remote‐controlled transporters can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h and carry loads of up to 150 kg. Their key advantage is low visibility. Furthermore, losing a ground drone is far less painful than losing personnel.
The battalion is increasingly using such ground drones. However, they are not satisfied with the quality of the models supplied to the military unit. Broken equipment poses greater risks. It must be evacuated to the rear manually.
Within the battalion, there is a platoon responsible for servicing and repairing unmanned systems. Using their own repair facility, they can repair damaged drones and assemble new ones simultaneously. However, they lack specialized equipment and must rely on standard welding machines and other basic tools. This is inefficient, as repairs take a considerable amount of time.
Drawing on the experience of other brigades, the soldiers decided to establish a professional workshop of their own.
The 49th Separate Assault Battalion sent a request to SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” and we responded. The Union of Forestry Warriors Of Ukraine joined the effort, sourcing the necessary tools and equipment directly from manufacturers.
Currently additional quipment is being procured. Beyond the basic tool set, the mini-factory will include a drill-bit sharpening machine, a screw-cutting lathe, a belt-sanding machine, a plasma-cutting unit, and more. The total cost exceeds UAH 7 million.
What are other advantages of in-house production of ground drones:
-Producing ground drones in-house is twice as cheap.
-The mini-factory will increase productivity fivefold.
The handover will take place soon!