Russia's new "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle makes its debut, with frequent interruptions and muddy drills

Russia is actively developing unmanned ground combat vehicles, but the status of the new "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle was frequently reported when it made its debut at the "Central-2026" (Tsentr-2026) exercise. Foreign media quoted Russian sources as saying that this unmanned combat vehicle, built on the chassis of a T-72 combat vehicle, lost its radio link with the control vehicle many times during the exercise. In order to avoid embarrassment in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian army also sent personnel to directly enter the vehicle to control it, but the vehicle eventually got stuck in the mud.

Foreign military news website "Defense Blog" reported that the "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle was developed by Russia's Uralvagonzavod. The entire system consists of an unmanned vehicle and a manned vehicle. Both use combat vehicle tracked chassis. The main combat vehicle is equipped with a 125 mm main gun with a shortened barrel, a bulldozer and additional armor. It can be used in urban warfare and accompanying assault force operations.

However, reports state that the biggest problem with the "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle is its high reliance on communications. The operator must remotely control the unmanned combat vehicle in the control vehicle, and the control vehicle must be maintained within a range of about 3 to 4 kilometers and maintain good line of sight to ensure link stability. During this exercise at the Chebarkul training ground in Chelyabinsk Region, the system lost communication multiple times, revealing that the reliability of remote control still needs to be improved.

Russian armored vehicle expert Andrei. Tarasenko also pointed out that the "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle's engine compartment and turret top are poorly protected, and these locations are common attack points for drones on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. He also questioned that without more stable communication methods such as Starlink, the actual combat value of such unmanned combat vehicles that highly rely on close control stations will be limited.

The Ural Vehicle Manufacturing Plant has been developing the "Shturm" unmanned combat vehicle since around 2018. The test vehicle was first spotted at the Nizhny Tagil factory in July 2025. The "Central-2026" was originally regarded as an important display occasion by Russia, but the interruption of communication and the fall into mud showed that it is far from being mature and practical, and there are still some technical problems to be solved.