The Russian Army has taken a weapon used against it by the German Army in World War II to produce what the Russian's now calls a "kamikaze robot" that blows itself up along with its target.

The "Nerekhta" fighting robot is a stealthy, maneuverable and silent miniature robotic tank that sneaks- up on its target totally unnoticed. And "Ka-boom!"  The robot owes its stealthiness to its rubber tracks and its quiet engine.

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Both in design and use, the Narekhta is similar to the "Goliath" tracked mine used by the German Army on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II.

The 0.56 meter tall Goliath carrying 60 kg of high explosive was remotely controlled by an operator using a joystick. Goliath weighed 370 kg and was 1.5 meters in length.

The tank was linked to the operator's control console by a set of wires. The operator drove the Goliath (SdKfz 302/303) towards its target where it was detonated.

This is precisely the same concept as the Nerekhta.

Russian media claims Russian Army scouts and Special Forces will deploy the Nerekhta to destroy enemy tanks and fortifications.

"The Nerekhta system has been put on the list of future fighting robots currently being mulled for use by the Russian Armed Forces," said at the Ministry of Defense. "If the combat platform passes the tests, it will enter service with our army scouts and Special Ops troops."

The Nerekhta weighs 300 kg; is just over one meter long and has a road speed of 11 km/h in silent mode. Sources claim the Nerekhta can pack hundreds of kilograms of high explosives.

A future iteration of the kamikaze tank will see the addition of a robotic arm so the Nerekhta can drop its explosive ordnance next to its target and then escape. No more self-destructing since robots are expensive to make.

You can see Nerekhta on YouTube here.

TagsRussian Army, Nerekhta fighting robot, kamikaze robot, German Army, Goliath tracked mine