Steam Deck: Soldiers in Ukraine Are Using the Gaming Handheld to Control Automatic Turrets

Steam Deck launched last year, 2022 in February taking the gaming world by storm with its capabilities and versatility. However, if someone had told me around the launch that the gaming handheld device would be used for operating an automatic turret, I would not have believed them. Even now, it is difficult for me to believe this reality.

Using the Valve-made hardware to control a turret is certainly different from all the Steam Deck modifications out there. Some of the more prominent tweaks include adding beefier cooling solutions, expanding storage capacity of the Steam Deck, using it as a desktop replacement, replacing the backplate or figuring out how to run Windows 11 on the device.

Steam Deck on the battle frontlines in Ukraine

According to initial reports by TRO Media on Facebook, Ukrainian soldiers are using Steam Deck to operate automated remote-controlled fire complex called “Saber”. Of course, the report focused on Saber, but some eagle-eyed gamers noticed that the device used to operate it was the gaming handheld device.

Saber has been designed for “stationary installation on stationary objects or special vehicles.” The turret is controlled with the help of a control panel, camera and monitor. It allows the operator to fire up to 500m from the installation. This distance could easily save the life of the operator, as per TRO Media.

The system can also be used to shoot down low-flying enemy “drones”. Operators can also install any “light anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon” on the Saber as per the report.

Valve’s Steam Deck is quite literally a portable computer given its specifications and ability to run a full Linux Operating System. However, it is fair to say that Valve didn’t consider that Steam Deck would be used to operate military combat equipment while developing the portable gaming console.