Fighters of the 33rd separate assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted a robotic assault on two buildings occupied by Russian occupiers in the Donetsk direction. The operation was carried out by the so-called "technology group": at least two ground-based robotic complexes Droid TW 12.7, a multirotor bomber, and an FPV kamikaze drone — without direct involvement of infantry in the zone of fire contact.
How it worked
According to the scheme confirmed by the official Telegram channel of the regiment, robots advanced to enemy positions first. The Droid TW 12.7 — a tracked platform with an M2 Browning machine gun caliber 12.7 mm — opened fire on personnel at a distance of up to one kilometer. After fire suppression, a heavy multirotor unmanned vehicle and FPV finished off the target.
"A new era of assault: a fighter's life is a priority. Warriors of the 33rd OSP successfully conducted a robotic assault on occupier positions. A technology group was sent there. Result — occupiers completely eliminated."
Official Telegram channel of the 33rd OSP
According to the unit's data, five occupiers were eliminated and the position was destroyed. Video of the operation was compiled from footage from the drones themselves.
What is Droid TW 12.7
The complex was developed by Ukrainian company DevDroid and codified by the Ministry of Defense — that is, officially approved for supply to Armed Forces units through state defense programs. The system is controlled remotely from cover and combines manual targeting with artificial intelligence-based auto-guidance algorithms. Communication is via Starlink, LTE, or Mesh network. Maximum movement speed — 7 km/h; effective firing range of the machine gun — up to 1 km.
According to DevDroid's claim, the Droid TW 12.7 became the first ground-based robotic complex confirmed to destroy enemy armored vehicles in real combat — even before this operation. At the international Eurosatory 2026 exhibition, the system was presented alongside the new Droid NW 40 complex.
Why this matters tactically
Robotic assault solves a specific infantry problem: approaching a fortified position under direct fire — the most vulnerable phase of an attack. When a platform weighing several hundred kilograms with its own communication channel moves instead of a person across this segment, personnel losses on the "final meters" are potentially reduced dramatically. The 33rd OSP was formed in December 2023 and already carried out tasks on the Vovchansk and Kursk fronts; the regiment now operates in the Donetsk direction.
An open question remains purely technical: the Droid TW 12.7 moves at a speed of 7 km/h — and if the enemy manages to evacuate or concentrates anti-drone jamming means on the ground channel, the robotic assault stalls on approach. How scalable this tactic will become will become clear when the Armed Forces or ISW provide data on operations where the robotic complex suffered losses or the mission was not completed.
