The new product will allow you to collect downed and lost drones and replenish your arsenal with spare parts without risking the lives of soldiers on the front line.
A drone tow truck has been developed in Russia. The device is attached to copter-type drones. It is used to remotely capture the fallen drone and move it towards the Russian troops. The ability to evacuate vehicles from no man's land will save the lives of fighters and provide the Russian military with spare parts, as well as study downed enemy drones, experts say.
What is a drone tow truck capable of?
The Baltic Federal University has developed a drone tow truck. The device is attached to unmanned aerial vehicles of the copter type. It captures a lost or downed enemy drone and transports it through the air to the positions of Russian units.
There are models in the line for the evacuation of both small and large drones, sources told Izvestia.
Photo: TASS/Alexander Polegenko
Image Source: iz.ru
A huge number of downed drones have accumulated in the combat zone in the neutral zone, military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia.
"Any attempt to enter there to assemble drones is associated with a huge risk for the fighters," the expert explained. — Moreover, there will be not only massive kamikaze drones, but also large, expensive drones with valuable stuffing. These devices can either be restored and re-launched into battle, or used as donors. At the front, they are trying to use every opportunity to replenish their arsenal. A tow truck UAV will do an excellent job of collecting downed vehicles, and you will no longer have to risk people's lives.
It will be much better able to cope with evacuation than a ground vehicle, the expert added.
"A wheeled or tracked drone will not pass everywhere — blockages, craters and barriers will interfere," he noted. — This is not a problem for UAVs. Also, ground-based drones have a worse signal retention when moving away from the base, as it is covered by ruins or folds of the terrain.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov
Image source: iz.ru
A lot of drone components are interchangeable, so assembling them is a great opportunity to stock up on spare parts, says Yuri Lyamin.
—The most expensive elements are optoelectronic systems," the expert noted. — Video cameras, batteries and other spare parts, including electric motors and controllers, will also be in demand.
Drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be of particular interest, Yuri Lyamin drew attention.
"UAVs are constantly being improved," he noted. — The evacuated enemy vehicles can be carefully examined. For example, to understand what novelties there are in the field of electronic warfare and how they can be circumvented. You can try to implement interesting new products at home, which will make your devices more efficient.
A vehicle on the battlefield may be lost due to external influences, minor damage, or an unexpectedly dead battery, military expert Vadim Kozyulin told Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Image source: iz.ru
"All of them can be easily restored," he clarified. — We have a lot of good specialists in our troops who not only repair damaged products in the field, but also refine them. Copters, as well as spare parts for them, are not cheap, and no one will refuse the opportunity to get them directly from no man's land.
The copter itself is a universal device, and if necessary, the towing device can be removed and the drone can be sent with other tasks, the expert noted.
— If necessary, he will be able to serve as a deliveryman, — he said. — It will carry ammunition, medicines, water and other important cargoes to our advanced units.
To date, most of the downed or fallen drones, especially in the combat contact zone, pose a serious danger: the enemy often retrofits them with a charge with a remote or contact fuse, or installs a self-destruct system that activates when mechanically affected, trying to lift or move the device, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Image source: iz.ru
"Manually lifting such drones carries a constant risk to the lives of specialists involved in mine clearance and evacuation of captured equipment," he explained. — Using a specialized tow truck allows you to remotely hook a suspicious vehicle, tow it to a safe distance and inspect, mine or dispose of it outside the danger zone. This directly reduces the likelihood of losses among sappers by eliminating the human factor at the first contact with a possible charger in the design of the drone or its body. In addition, with the widespread use of such equipment, it becomes possible to quickly evacuate enemy drones for further technical analysis without endangering the engineering units on duty.
In addition, a tow truck can be an indispensable tool in cases where it works in an area shot by the enemy or in a minefield: remote capture and transportation remove the threat to other military personnel involved in the search and collection of captured items, the expert added.
What types of drones are there in the military
Recently, drones have been developed in Russia to solve a wide variety of tasks. Izvestia reported on a new robotic cable stacker. This is a remote-controlled crawler platform powered by electric traction. It is equipped with a plow that digs a ditch for wires while driving. The cable is unwound from the coil, which is mounted on a special trailer. At the same time, the machine can fix it with brackets while driving. The ditch is then filled with earth thanks to a special device. The cable carrier is controlled by the operator remotely. Ground-based cable installers often work in tandem with unmanned aerial vehicles, which help communications operators adjust the route taking into account the terrain and the current situation in the area of work.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
UAVs are increasingly being used to lay a communication line between positions by air, through minefields and difficult terrain. These are FPV drones with a special coil on which an armored fiber-optic cable is wound. During the flight of the drone, it unwinds, allowing you to extend a communication line to the advanced detachments of our troops or individual dugouts.
To counter-sabotage forces and means units (SDSS) The Russian Navy has received unmanned aerial vehicles. They can be used to detect and destroy enemy sabotage forces underwater and on shore. The Pacific Fleet has already conducted exercises to practice enemy search tactics.
The engineering troops received a whole line of drones. UAVs are searching for explosive objects from the air. And when an explosive object is detected, it is destroyed by dumping or overhead charges. The device can descend and place, for example, a TNT block on a mine, which is then remotely detonated.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Image source: iz.ru
The troops of radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection (RCBZ) have begun using new aerosol munitions for drones. They hide personnel and vehicles from enemy surveillance. At the same time, they are capable of protecting armored vehicles from radar-guided weapons. The ammunition has already been successfully tested in combat conditions.
Roman Kretsul
Bogdan Stepovoy
