Ukraine's NC13 plans expansion of strike UGV operations

Images from a video published on 3rd October purportedly showing Ukrainian OWA UGVs before their detonations during the 3rd Army Corps' Operation Vivaldi in 2026. Visible above the UGVs may be Starlink terminal panels, or other communication apparatus. (NC13 UGV unit/3rd Army Corps/AFU)

Ukraine's NC13 strike unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) unit is developing new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and plans a substantial expansion of its existing capabilities over the next six months, its commander, Mykola Zinkevych, call sign ‘Makar', told Janes in an interview on 6 October 2026.

NC13's ability to implement new tactics comes from combining its command team's experience as infantrymen and assault troops with technical expertise gained through hands-on work developing and modernising ground robotic systems, as well as extensive experience in using these systems on the battlefield, Zinkevych said.

“We are developing absolutely all possible directions where UGVs can be used for strike purposes,” he said. New applications are being developed daily, he added, stating that “what we have implemented now will be scaled up hundreds of times over the next six months”.

Discussing command-and-control (C2), Zinkevych told Janes that NC13 uses several communications methods that can be switched during operations, including digital communications, mesh networks, analogue communications, and encrypted radio links. Electronic warfare (EW) disruption occurs infrequently and is resolved quickly by the unit's communications personnel, programmers, and IT specialists, he said.

“Overall, we can control the UGVs from anywhere in the world,” Zinkevych said, adding that this enables operators, commanders, and personnel observing the battlefield to work at considerable distances from the front line.