Russian paratroopers have airdropped the Kurier unmanned ground vehicle from an Il-76 transport for the first time, during the Center-2026 strategic exercises, Militarnyi reported on October 5.

The robot was released from about 600 meters on a P-7 parachute platform. Operators who had landed earlier took control after recovery, and the report says the vehicle needed three to five minutes to prepare for its mission after landing. In the demonstration it carried a 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun, and the platform can also mount 12.7 mm machine guns or automatic grenade launchers.

Kurier is small: roughly 1.4 by 1.2 by 0.58 meters and up to 250 kilograms. It reaches about 35 km/h, with a control range of 3 to 10 kilometers and endurance of up to 72 hours. Stated missions include fire support, delivering ammunition and supplies, evacuating wounded and destroying infrastructure behind enemy lines.

Reconnaissance teams also jumped from An-26 aircraft at 6,000 meters using Stayer parachute systems, gliding more than 17 kilometers to their landing zones. An exercise demonstration is not combat proof, and the figures come from the reporting rather than independent verification. Still, it shows that ground robots are being folded into airborne doctrine, not just frontline defense.

Source: Militarnyi. ORBATMag has not independently confirmed the details.