Impulse BM-A UGV arms up with automatic grenade launchers

Impulse BM-A UGV equipped with an AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher. (Rostec)

Russia's Rostec State Corporation announced that Impulse BM-A unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are being used operationally in Ukraine equipped with either AGS-30 or AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers (AGLs) in a 27 May press release.

The AGS-30 ‘Atlant' fires 30 mm grenades and was developed as a lighter replacement for the ageing AGS-17, though the latter is also still available to outfit the BM-A. There are no open source specifications on either weapon's automated mounting for this unmanned configuration, but in tripod-mounted configuration with ammunition, the AGS-30 weighs just over 30 kg including a full ammunition box. That is well within the 1,000 kg payload that the Impulse UGV can lug over level ground and also the 500 kg in offroad configuration (able to scale 30-degree inclines), although the Impulse configuration with weapon site, ammunition feed and motors will obvious weigh significantly more.

The Impulse UGVs can be controlled truly remotely via a mesh radio network - extending its operational range using signal relays - or through a fibre optic tether.

The Impulse UGV also has the capability to carry out missions with some level of autonomy once target coordinates are pre-programmed. “They [UGVs] follow points marked on a digital map; their position is monitored using a specialised software. This mode is activated when radio contact with the operator is lost,” according to the Rostec release. The UGV can also autonomously return to base by navigating pre-programmed points around the terrain.

In August 2024, Rostec said Russian UGV manufacturer Gumich developed the Impulse-M platform with support from Rostec. At the tsame ime, Rostec said the UGV could also be equipped with anti-tank missiles.