The new ground control system allows drones to operate at a distance of up to 70 kilometers and protects operators from detection.
A drone control system created by the fighters themselves began to be used on the line of contact in the border areas of the Kursk region. The station provides stable communication with drones and allows you to hit targets deep behind enemy lines while remaining at a safe distance. It helps to avoid interference and maintain control over the device even with active electronic jamming.
UAV range increased
The fighters of the Yakim detachment have developed their own control station for aircraft-type attack UAVs. This was reported to Izvestia by the Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies. Thanks to this development, kamikaze drones have become more efficient. The new station allows you to control them at a distance of up to 70 kilometers, while communication and video are not interrupted.
Photo: TASS/Alexander Polegenko
Image source: iz.ru
The device allows you to switch between different frequencies. You can also connect remote antennas and a fiber—optic cable to it - this protects the drone from enemy electronic warfare (EW) devices that are trying to "jam" the signal. The squad is currently using several such stations and plans to assemble new ones to help other units.
Izvestia had previously reported on this special unit. The Yakim detachment from the BARS-Kursk brigade has been working in the Kursk region since last autumn. It not only counteracts enemy drones, but also serves as a testing ground for new communication systems, electronic warfare and reconnaissance, robotics and mine clearance equipment.
In the arena of electronic warfare
Military expert Yuri Lyamin explained to Izvestia that the modernization of drones has become a critically important task today. The line of combat contact has become an arena of constant electronic warfare.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Vinogradov
Image source: iz.ru
— The primary goal is to build up the distance. Previously, drones operated at 30-40 kilometers, but now the bar has risen to 70. The enemy is withdrawing artillery and headquarters deep into the rear, hoping for invulnerability. A weapon that does not reach its target loses its meaning," he stressed.
According to the expert, the introduction of remote antennas and repeaters is the key to the survival of the calculations. Previously, the radio signal went directly and the enemy easily calculated the location of the control station by striking it. Now the antenna is brought forward, and the operator is in a protected place. Even if the enemy detects the signal and destroys the antenna, the personnel will not suffer.
— But the main thing is the quality of guidance. Satellite navigation malfunctions under the powerful influence of electronic warfare, and inertial systems are prone to errors on long routes. As a result, the drone may miss," Yuri Lyamin added. — A stable video channel allows a person to see an object in real time and adjust the flight until the very moment of impact. Direct visual control guarantees precision beyond the reach of automation.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
According to him, such improvements transform a tactical drone from a "blind" munition into a high—precision tool for hitting priority targets - artillery, command posts and warehouses.
Adaptive production
Dmitry Kuzyakin, Chief Designer of the Central Design Bureau, noted that the level of competence of soldiers on the front line is growing rapidly. Military operations have become a tough examiner, which dictates the need for rapid modernization of equipment.
— We must admit that engineers and operators at the front have knowledge that surpasses the theoretical base of many research institutes. The pace of change on the line of contact is so great that civil science does not have time to form academic disciplines. The guys are creating a material base literally on the go, mastering concepts that previously existed only on paper," he told Izvestia.
The expert is sure that we are witnessing the collapse of an outdated model, when development was delegated to the rear design bureau. Bureaucracy slows down processes, and the rear does not always understand the specifics of front-line requests.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Prudnikov
Image source: iz.ru
— Adaptive manufacturing has become a reality: small series and unique solutions are assembled where they are needed. This is the only way to maintain the advantage," Dmitry Kuzyakin summed up. — It is important to realize that the flight range of a UAV (be it an airplane type or a multicopter) is determined not so much by the device itself as by the capabilities of the ground control station (NSO). The "bottleneck" is almost always the radio channel. The guys on the front line are pinpointing this problem. Creating a station with a confident signal at 70 kilometers changes the tactical capabilities of the unit. The main task now is to integrate field developments into the state industrial system.
Ensuring the safety of military convoys
Earlier, Izvestia wrote that columns of military equipment in the area of the special military operation (SVO) began to be accompanied by aerial and ground drones. Two quadrocopters with video cameras fly in front of the cars, which examine the roadbed and roadsides. When an explosive object is detected, the equipment stops, and a ground-based robotic system (NRTC) with a manipulator is unloaded from one of the trailers.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov
Image source: iz.ru
The operator of the device, focusing on the data from the quadrocopters, finds a suspicious object. After that, the robot uses a manipulator to place an overhead charge on it and moves away to a safe distance. Then the charge is detonated and the detected object is destroyed, the interlocutors said.
This column posting tactic is already being used in the special operation zone.
Julia Leonova
