MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian military will next year unveil initial prototypes of robotic combat vehicles featuring tank-like tracked chassis and hybrid engines, a deputy defense minister said Wednesday.

“It’s a unique robotic vehicle … capable of performing a wide range of combat tasks, primarily including minesweeping and, in the future, direct involvement in combat action on the battlefield,” Col. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko told reporters.

The general added that the prototypes were being based on foreign technologies and components, but future vehicles would feature domestic components.

Ostapenko said the Defense Ministry had drafted a targeted program on procurement of robotic vehicles for defense purposes, which would allow Russian manufacturers to build, by 2020-2025, enough robotic vehicles to ensure Russia’s national security.

He also said the creation of the so-called Military Robotics Center, which was announced in December, would be completed in 2014.

“We have already selected core personnel and set up several research labs as part of the center,” Ostapenko said