August 2, 2026: The war in Ukraine spurred significant technological innovation in Ukraine and neighboring countries. Estonia is one such center of creativity, and a local firm, Telearmy, recently revealed its remote vehicle control technology. This tech was originally developed as part of a car-sharing system. Now this technology has evolved into a remote-control system for operating wheeled armored transports, Humvees, pickups, box trucks, and wheeled or tracked combat drones.

Another application is mobile decoys. Instead of stationary fake military equipment, remotely operated vehicles disguised as combat vehicles can be used as decoys to lure the enemy into attacking. When that happens, drones can be called in to target nearby drone operators.

Remote control vehicles are nothing new. During World War II, the Germans developed a wire-controlled vehicle that carried explosives. This was used to destroy enemy bunkers or tanks. Not many of these were used because they were difficult to control and not sturdy enough to last long in combat zones.

American soldiers in Afghanistan had access to Packbot and other small remotely controlled drones used to reveal and disable roadside bombs. Some soldiers purchased remotely controlled toy trucks that could be carried in backpacks and used to detonate tripwire explosives or, with some gravel or dirt added to weigh down the vehicle, to detonate some types of land mines. Affixing a GoPro camera turned the truck into a reconnaissance device in villages or caves. This approach was also used by rescuers searching for victims trapped under debris after an earthquake. In this case, there were military-grade surface drones that could go underground and see what was there and assist in rescuing people found down there.

Israel developed remotely controlled D9 bulldozers to enter defended villages and plow through walls or buildings so the following troops could kill any terrorists still present and collect information left behind. Israel developed several other remotely controlled vehicles for military, police, and counter-terrorism operations.

Several other nations, including Russia, China, and India, have developed remotely controlled vehicles and continue to develop new ones.

The Estonian remote-controlled vehicle has found new uses as more vehicles are deployed and more operators are trained. Disabled Ukrainian soldiers can use these from a base far from the combat zone to control supply-vehicle drones delivering supplies to the front, or reconnaissance vehicles that patrol remote portions of the 900-kilometer front line. Ukraine is also using armed drones to guard these remote areas, as well as taking part in assaults on Russian positions. A growing number of Russian soldiers are surrendering to the drones.