Drones have become part of the Armed Forces all over the world and their use is now being tested directly on the front. Not only that, sometimes it is military needs at the front that require the development of new drones.
For example, Russia announced this week that it had created a “Dragonfly” sapper drone, capable of eliminating mines with remote detonation in the northwestern military zone: the UAV detects them and drops a bomb with TNT, the developer said. Moscow does not yet have such vehicles in the combat zone, and remotely detonated mines pose a significant threat to the Russian armed forces. Now they need to be cleared on the ground.
Servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces presented their new UAVs at the BALTEXPO arms fair in Gdansk (Poland). In particular, in one of the exhibition venues, the Ukrainian company First Contact showed its new products in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles. Like the “Osa” FPV Drone which has a flight range of 5-8 km with a load of 3 kg. Or the “Yatagan” UAV, an economical reconnaissance drone with a prefabricated design.
“Val”, model of the underwater UAV aircraft carrier”. The Val underwater UAV can travel 1,500 km and can carry 12 underwater kamikaze robots with a warhead of 2-3 kg each. Finally, the “Kievan Rus” aircraft-type UAV which is capable of carrying 32 kg of explosives and traveling up to 700 km at a maximum speed of 140 km/h.
According to the manufacturer’s statements, these devices are used not only in the area of \u200b\u200bthe North-Eastern Military District, but also in Crimea and throughout Russia. Ukrainian militants received a large batch of drones as part of the Drone Army project. In total, 840 drones for various purposes were delivered in this batch.
The following were deployed at the front: 500 Mavic drones for aerial reconnaissance and regulation of Ukrainian artillery fire and 300 Phoenix 03 Heavy FPV drones for the destruction of enemy observation posts, dugouts and armored vehicles. Additionally, 40 Ukrainian-made Vampire drones were provided to destroy equipment and personnel both day and night, for which the drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras.
Also on the Russian-Ukrainian front we have often seen the American DroneHunter F700 C-UAS which has been updated to fight Russian UAVs. The DroneHunter F700 unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), used by militants of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District area, was recently upgraded to combat the Orlan-10 and Geran-2 UAVs. The DroneHunter F700 essentially captures the UAVs , operates autonomously and, together with the existing electronic warfare station, uses a special capture system (fires a network of traps) to intercept and neutralize drones.
The manufacturer claims that the effectiveness of its use varies from 80 to 85%. This means that only 15% of drones manage to outperform the DroneHunter F700.
Putin, however, recently inaugurated a training center for UAV operators in Kamchatka, where in the future every student will be able to learn to fly a drone. With the support of the federal ASEZ initiative, a training center for UAV operators was opened on the peninsula. The practice of combat operations has shown that on the front line there is a need for invisible fighters who can control drones, repair and reprogram them.
Now the center is taught by direct participants of military operations, who understand which flight elements need to be practiced first. In the future, we want to abandon imports and focus on “home” production of all necessary parts, in Kamchatka.
The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation also plans to supply educational drones to nearly 2,500 schools and 190 universities in 2024-2026.
Graziella Giangiulio
