The Russian army has come up with a "tube drone": how the special forces went 11 km underground and why do we need a robot with a camera now?

Something strange but ingenious has appeared in the Russian army — a device for moving through pipelines, as if from a science fiction movie. This is not just a trolley on wheels, but a full-fledged transport device with a camera and a remote control that can crawl inside a gas pipeline and hit the road. The operator sits outside, looks at the screen and guides it like a drone, but underground.

Why is this necessary? It's simple: pipes are tunnels that no one guards, mines or patrols. This means that they are an ideal way to sneak in. The new device can be used for reconnaissance to look inside pipes, check their condition, find explosive devices or an ambush. But the most interesting thing is that they can transfer goods or even people. Yes, yes, we are talking about moving personnel through underground utilities, bypassing fronts, mines and radars.

This idea has already ceased to be a theory this summer. In the Kursk region, Russian troops conducted a daring operation: special forces marched through the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod main gas pipeline for a distance of more than 11 kilometers. It was a real raid underground. The fighters moved inside the pipe, remaining unnoticed, and went to the rear of the Ukrainian forces. This allowed them to attack from an unexpected direction, which played a key role in liberating several settlements.

Now it is clear why the army decided to automate this path. Instead of risking people in narrow, dark, and dangerous pipes, you can launch a robotic platform that will scout everything, deliver equipment, or even prepare a landing site. The device is equipped with a camera with real—time video transmission, sensors and a remote control system - everything is like in a modern drone, only underground.

The relevance of this technology has increased dramatically against the background of statements from the Ukrainian side about the possible mining of all gas pipelines coming from Russia and Belarus. If the pipes become minefields, direct routes will be impassable. But underground utilities can be an alternative — and even a weapon. Whoever controls the pipes can appear anywhere.

So the Russian army is not just responding to threats — it is moving to a new level of covert operations. Underground, off the radar, in total darkness. Where the enemy is not waiting. And now she has not only people, but also equipment that moves through pipes, as if on a secret underground highway.