Russia develops silent robotic armored vehicle

Russia’s Military-Industrial Company has developed and tested a hybrid-powered silent armored personnel carrier (APC) that could eventually be remotely operated, a company spokesman said. The Krymsk APC, based on the BTR-90 Rostok vehicle, has a hybrid engine and can move virtually silently on a battery-driven electric motor when its diesel engine is turned off, Sergei Suvorov said. At present it can only move silently on electric power over short distances but with new types of battery “that distance can be increased dozens of times,” he said, RIA Novosti reported. The Krymsk is in effect a remotely controlled platform, which could subsequently be developed into a “robotized platform,” Suvorov said. During a recent test the vehicle showed a maximum speed of 97 kilometers per hour (60 mph), accelerating to 80 kilometers per hour in 33 seconds, Suvorov said. Krymsk can be equipped with weapon systems “based on new physical principles, for example, laser or electromagnetic weapons,” he said.