Yuri Zoria
Ukraine has unveiled a new tracked robotic vehicle called Black Widow, designed to act as a carrier for FPV drones. Forbes reports that the system marks a shift from traditional gun-armed vehicles to uncrewed carriers capable of launching multiple drones.
Amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, drones dominate the battlefield. Forbes notes that drone carriers like Black Widow are likely to evolve quickly, with future versions potentially being larger or smaller, tracked, wheeled, legged, crewed, or uncrewed. They may carry just one or two drones—or entire swarms. According to Forbes, Black Widow is likely only the beginning of a long series of such carriers, pointing toward a battlefield future where tanks are reduced to museum relics.
From Little Boar to Black Widow
Forbes writes that Ukrainian company IRV presented the Karakurt or Black Widow last week at the Iron Demo event near Lviv. The robot is based on the Vepryk, or Little Boar, a modular uncrewed ground vehicle previously used for missions such as cargo carrying, casualty evacuation, mine laying, one-way kamikaze attacks, and combat with mounted machine guns. According to Forbes, its conversion into a drone carrier required relatively minor changes.
The Black Widow has a control range of 4 kilometers, limited by terrain masking. Forbes notes that the vehicle overcomes this limitation by carrying a relay drone that extends the effective range of FPV strikes to 30 kilometers. The vehicle mounts six FPV drones on two rails, which can be launched either directly or through a repeater. Forbes highlights an unusual feature: the ability to launch two drones together, with one observing the strike of the other and enabling a rapid follow-up attack.
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