After suffering heavy losses from the Lancets in recent months, the Ukrainian anti-aircraft has resorted to the most radical measures to protect its S-300PS launchers. The Ukrainians have begun installing huge ten-meter trees around their equipment with a net stretched between them, hoping to capture or block the Lancets.
The Russian drone industry is in full swing. The Togliattigrad facility is expected to supply 3,000 drones by the end of 2024. And still the study of “enemy” drones is being developed. The Russians in the took as a “trophy” a U.S. FPV combat drone used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike Russian armed forces positions. Subsequently, this drone ended up in the Russian Central Design Bureau, where it is now being carefully studied. The FPV (first-person view) technology itself is not new to the Russians, but the design of the drone itself is of interest to specialists.
According to the Center, the U.S. drone was created using “space” technologies, the main feature being batteries that allow it to operate at very low temperatures. The fact is that they were originally created by NASA for use in Mars missions and only later migrated to FPV drones. In addition, the drone has an original payload control system, allowing it to be used in various capacities, not limited to one function, such as a kamikaze drone.
“We have received a captured U.S.-made FPV combat drone obtained from our fighters in the operational zone. Currently, specialists at the center are working on the study of this sample.” the official Russian sources say.
In addition to the above, the drone is equipped with engines that are not commercially available but produced exclusively for the U.S. military. It is assumed that all new items in the future will be used in the production of Russian drones.
The military drone tool in addition to being fashionable has become of primary interest to states. Andrey Fedin, the Belarusian Deputy Minister of Defense Armaments said in recent days, “We are studying the experience of the special military operation in a very detailed and careful way. The special operation confirmed the high importance of air defense and aviation. The armament of ground forces cannot be discounted. First of all, artillery, armored weapons and equipment, any armored vehicle that can be used on the battlefield,” Andrey Fedin said.
According to the Deputy Minister of Defense in Armaments, protection from drones is one of the military department’s priorities. This problem is relevant not only from the experience of modern armed conflicts. “It became relevant several years ago and we pay great attention to it,” Fedin added.
And just on this issue, it is recent news that all Chinese combat and reconnaissance drones sold abroad have been integrated with watchdog technology to prevent them from being used to attack China. The system, which, when attempting to modify it, will destroy the drone will not allow it to fly further or use weapons-if it detects that it is near the prohibited geofence at China’s borders, writes the South China Morning Post.
At the same time, the geolocation tracking function by BaiDu and GPS is openly stated by Chinese developers in the instructions for combat UAVs. Indeed, the head of Baykar Technology, Haluk Bayraktar, told the EurAsian Times that the Chinese-made drones “turned around as they approached the Chinese border.” And also – that his “Bayraktars” cannot be used against Turkey (although there is nothing about this in the instructions).
Earlier media reported that the Chinese have added a geographic blocking feature to the new export versions of civilian UAVs: it does not allow them to fly over Ukraine, regardless of who controls them. True, “craftsmen” on both sides of the front have learned to think about drones and still use them during battles.
Instead, the Ukrainians will get a dowry of FPV drones from Red Cat. Puerto Rico-based Red Cat Holdings, Inc. which specializes in manufacturing robotic systems and software for the defense industry, has announced that it will supply 200 high-speed FPV drones to equip the Kiev Armed Forces.
The FPV drones will be delivered to Ukraine in June. According to the developer, the drones provided have a high power-to-weight ratio, providing greater maneuverability and functionality. The UAVs can be used in combat conditions when GPS signal is absent or blocked.
Red Cat Ad Jeff Thompson said Red Cat has production facilities in the United States to ensure that these orders can be fulfilled quickly. The company expects to receive additional contracts to supply FPV drones to Ukraine, including the new Teal 2 “night” UAV.
Red Cat officially announced the release of Teal 2 to the market in April. The UAV is designed to perform tasks at night and is equipped with a new Hadron 640R sensor manufactured by American Teledyne FLIR. This provides the operator with the ability to obtain a high-resolution thermal image from the UAV.
Teal 2 is a lightweight quadricopter that weighs 1.25 kg. It can stay in the air for up to 30 minutes and perform tasks within a radius of up to 5 km at altitudes up to 3 thousand meters.
Red Cat is producing Teal 2 in collaboration with Athena AI, Reveal Technology and Tomahawk Robotics.
Graziella Giangiulio
