Zmiy (Minesweeper / KNRO Zmiy)

Forty times cheaper than comparable systems, claims the maker: the Zmiy demining robot from Ukraine's Rovertech sells for 14,500 to 20,000 USD depending on fit-out (defence24, September 2025). The 950 kg machine carries a flail with a working width of about 1.35 m, survives the detonation of two anti-tank mines according to Rovertech and clears up to 2.5 ha a day.

A combustion engine burns about 6 litres of fuel per 1.2 hours (government figure), speed is 8 km/h, and the operator controls it by radio from up to 2.9 km, often with a drone guiding the robot onto its target. It detonates anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, carries a NATO codification and is certified for humanitarian clearance.

An assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses it (Militarnyi), and MAG International received two machines for Kharkiv region; the robot emerged from the Brave1 cluster. Co-founder Bohdan Zmiy, who conceived the machine, died in October 2025.

Set against the British Armtrac 400 – 23 t and 491,808 USD – the Zmiy represents the opposite philosophy: cheap, light, locally built and expendable by design. Ratel Robotics' Ratel Deminer and tractor-based flails are not listed separately for lack of specifications, which leaves the Zmiy as the documented low-cost benchmark for mechanical demining in Ukraine.