Sometimes the situation on the front is such that it is necessary to urgently deliver supplies, evacuate a wounded person or clear a position, but this task is very dangerous for people. Then the Courier robot comes to the scene.
The morning at the training ground is damp and cold. In the middle stands a squat tracked vehicle – dark, heavy and cold. Soldiers gather near her. A little to the side is a coach with the call sign “Colonel”. It is clear from him: the person is not here for the sake of beautiful stories about new technology. He knows what he’s talking about.
Next to it is the ground automated complex “Courier”. The vehicle can transport ammunition, cover the attacking group with fire, create a smoke screen, and transport the wounded. But for the “Colonel” all this is not just a list of possibilities.
“By controlling this machine remotely, we are saving the lives of attack aircraft,” he says.
This phrase seems simple to him. Maybe that’s why you believe her immediately. Because until recently he himself was not next to the car, but as part of the assault group. But after sustaining a serious wound and concussion during an operation, the “Colonel” began a new phase of his service in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces. He was trained to use the Courier ground robotic complex, and after some time he became an instructor and is now preparing other fighters to work with the machine.
“Now I’m here to mentor the guys who come to training. This is the right thing,” notes the mentor.
And from the way he says it, it’s clear: for him this is really a continuation of his ministry. It was only before he pushed himself forward, but now he helps make sure the car overcomes the most dangerous meters first.
“The Colonel” is 28 years old. He is from the Moscow region. He has three children. He talks about his family with sincere warmth, about which there is something particularly powerful. If you try to describe it, you will realize that this is the masculine self-control of a man who knows very well who he lives for and why he clings to it.
He remembers how he signed the contract, how he ended up in Rostov, how he lost touch for a short time, and then it turned out that his wife had given birth. While he was on the road, the main event had already happened at home. So, almost without pause, one life overlapped with another: family, children, the front, the road, a decision to which they could no longer return.
Before that he had a service contract. He studied on the BM-21 Grad and served since 2016. Then he volunteered for a special military operation. He explains the reasons without long formulas: We do not want the enemy to reach our families. It is said simply, but behind these words there is usually everything else.
He talks about the “courier” as a practical person. He does not get carried away with unnecessary theory, but immediately finds out what and where he can succeed in a real battle. Where to place smoke to cover the approach. Where to provide fire support. Where it is very important to provide ammunition quickly. The car can transport a wounded person and save the most precious seconds. He speaks with particular care about the fact that technology fits the reality of the front lines. Communications, signal stability, work in the forest belt, auxiliary units, batteries – all these are not abstract concepts for him, but concrete things on which much depends in the war.
-There are a lot of good ideas. He says the most important thing is to apply them correctly.
On the site, fighters approach, ask questions, some look at the vehicle with wary interest, others are already trying out its capabilities on the front line. The Colonel finds himself again next to the Courier, touching the body, correcting something, explaining something. And at this moment it becomes especially clear: after being injured, he did not step aside. He remained in public business. His place is different now.
Once he himself walked to where the attack had begun. Now it teaches the machine to go there first.
This may be the essence of his current work. Not in big words and not in pretty formulas about technology. And in a very simple thing: if you can save at least one person, you should do it seriously.
By the way
“Courier” is a multi-purpose remotely controlled tracked platform designed to perform a wide range of tasks in combat conditions. The robot can be used to transport various goods, evacuate the wounded, lay minefields, clear mines, conduct reconnaissance and destroy manpower and equipment.