Brig. General Andrii Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, made a highly unusual revelation late last month, revealing that his forces had become the “first in the world” to drop robots on the ground from drones in combat.
Heavy bomber drones had carried the armed robots about six miles deep into Russian territory and dropped them there as part of Operation Vivaldi, an assault that is still taking place in eastern Ukraine and has already seen kyiv reclaim large swathes of territory from Moscow.
The tactic is called “Gryphon” and is named after a soldier who went missing in action near Andriivka, said Mykola Zinkevych, commander of NC13, the world’s first attack unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) unit. Rather than passing explosive-laden robots across the front line, heavy drones dropped the robots on the Russian rear, creating an unexpected new direction of attack.
NC13, a unit of the Third Assault Brigade of the Third Army Corps, played a leading role in Operation Vivaldi. Zinkevych, who goes by “Makar,” spoke to Business Insider this week through a translator to discuss his unit’s involvement.
Traditional airborne assaults have been very rare in this conflict, as dense air defense networks threaten air operations.
Operation Vivaldi, however, demonstrated the potential for unmanned airborne assaults. Rather than risk helicopters, transport planes or paratroopers, drones can drop robots behind enemy lines, and Ukraine’s burgeoning defense industry is working on solutions to advance this concept, as are military units.
Brave1, Ukraine’s state-backed innovation platform, said days after the Third Army Corps’ airborne assault revealed that another combat unit, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade’s “Alter Ego” robot battalion, had developed and deployed similar technology.
The view from a heavy bomber drone as it drops a UGV. Courtesy of NC13
The unit designed a specialized robot called “Desantnyk”, as well as a mechanism for its heavy bomber drones to transport and drop the robot deep behind the front lines. It has already been used to attack Russian positions, Brave1 said, adding that the entire process, from initial design to combat deployment, took only 10 days.
Without an off-the-shelf robot on the market that bomber drones could easily carry and drop, especially from long distances, the Alter Ego unit could only develop one itself, a Brave1 representative told Business Insider, relaying information from the unit.
“This is an asymmetric solution that the enemy does not expect: providing mobility and the ability to conduct operations deep behind enemy lines,” the representative said.
Through the robot’s combat experience, Alter Ego now understands that UGVs must balance mobility, range, and payload, while maintaining resilient communications with operators. Brave1 said this helped the unit find a manufacturer so it could turn the prototype into mass production.
Other Ukrainian defense companies also see value in these systems.
Volodymyr Zinovskyi, CEO of Ukrainian defense company TAF Industries, recently told Business Insider in London that his company has developed both robots and heavy bomber drones and could easily combine the two for a mission.
The concept of using robotic systems to support each other in combat is not necessarily new. Earlier this year, for example, Business Insider reported that a Ukrainian defense manufacturer said soldiers surprised it by knocking one of its robots off a drone.
A heavy bomber drone carries a UGV in this system designed by Alter Ego. Courtesy of Brave1/Screenshot
And motherships have become more and more popular. Ukrainian companies have designed new ways to launch drones from autonomous platforms, such as unmanned boats and ground robots, significantly increasing their operational reach.
Using drones to drop robots in combat – a tactic Brave1 says is unique to Ukraine and that only a few units are capable of implementing at present – is kyiv’s latest homemade mothership concept.
The development comes as part of broader efforts by Ukraine to replace soldiers with robotic systems for dangerous frontline missions, particularly logistics operations and casualty evacuation.
“In assault operations, in front of infantry, drones and stray munitions always come first,” Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps, said on September 20, sharing details of Operation Vivaldi on social media.
Ukrainian defense companies and soldiers told Business Insider that ideas for motherships like air-dropped robots — combining technologies in creative and effective ways — underscore the direction the war is heading.
Zinovskyi, CEO of TAF Industries, said defense companies previously focused mainly on drone production. The next challenge is systems integration, where mixed systems work together to accomplish missions.
Zinkevych, the NC13 commander, said he was happy to see several companies developing bomber drones capable of carrying UGVs and described the efforts as a key example of industrial scaling of a system that has already proven effective on the battlefield.
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