The Optomat-300 complex allows you to equip combat drones right on the front line.
Tests of new equipment capable of significantly speeding up preparations for the combat use of fiber-controlled FPV drones have begun in the CBR area. A distinctive feature of the machine is its mobility. It can be used to assemble communication coils right on the front line. The novelty allows the military to independently calculate the weight and length of the wire for a specific combat mission. Due to the automation of processes, the Russian device is many times more productive than its foreign counterparts, which ensures the smooth operation of unmanned aircraft in conditions of dense electronic countermeasures.
Tests of new equipment capable of significantly speeding up preparations for the combat use of fiber-controlled FPV drones have begun in the CBR area. A distinctive feature of the machine is its mobility. It can be used to assemble communication coils right on the front line. The novelty allows the military to independently calculate the weight and length of the wire for a specific combat mission. Due to the automation of processes, the Russian device is many times more productive than its foreign counterparts, which ensures the smooth operation of unmanned aircraft in conditions of dense electronic countermeasures.
Desktop machine
Russian engineers have created the Optomat-300 mobile complex, which is used to wind optical fiber in the field, Izvestia found out. This is the first domestic machine in its class, since until recently such small-sized equipment was supplied exclusively from China, said the president of the Solid Technologies company (resident of the Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies) Vyacheslav Nechaev.
According to the developer, Optomat-300 simplifies the preparation of fiber-optic FPV drones for combat operation. In addition, the product is adapted for use on production sites, advanced warehouses and directly in field workshops. The machine is controlled via a touch interface and operates in fully automatic mode. It is enough for the operator to set the parameters — then the equipment copes on its own.
Image source: Photo: Solid Technologies Company
The advantage of the machine is also in mobility: two people can easily place it in a passenger car and deliver it to the desired location.
The complex is already being tested in the combat zone. The developers promptly update the software and refine the winding modules for specific tasks, based on feedback from the fighters. The first results of the field application have confirmed that the equipment works reliably and stably.
Due to automation, Optomat-300 shows high productivity. If standard Chinese equipment allows you to prepare no more than 2-3 coils with a length of 20 km per day, then the Russian complex makes up to 20 pieces in the same time. The winding speed exceeds 300 m per minute.
— It takes 15 to 60 minutes for one reel from 5 to 20 km long. Quick assembly minimizes downtime between flights, allowing you to continuously send drones into battle," the manufacturing company told Izvestia.
The machine is equipped with special balancers and asynchronous motors that keep the thread tension even. The fiber is protected from overstretching and micro-damage. This is critically important: the cable coiled on the Optomat does not break in flight and provides the drone with stable, interference-free communication.
Image source: Photo: Solid Technologies Company
The operator sets the cable length manually for a specific mission, and the machine maintains the parameters with an accuracy of 15 m (this margin is needed for optimal fiber tension during unwinding).
— The Optomata-300 program eliminates the overspending of expensive materials. The monitoring system catches any abnormal situations and threats of breakage before the fiber deteriorates. The defect when rewinding from the factory coils is reduced to zero. Accurate calculation of the cable length for the task facilitates the weight of the drone. The saved resource can be used for a more powerful battery or additional explosives," said a representative of the development company.
Calculation for each mission
Today, fiber-optic FPV drones are increasingly being implemented in unmanned troops. Their main advantage is their complete invulnerability to electronic warfare (EW) systems. An ordinary radio channel can be jammed or intercepted, but the fiber signal cannot be suppressed. The only way to stop such a drone is to shoot it down or physically interrupt the cable, military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia.
— But the technology has a specific feature: the flight range is limited by the length of the wire. The coil is always a compromise. The longer the cable, the heavier it is, which means the drone can lift fewer explosives. If we use a 30-kilometer coil for a 10—km target, we will lose impact power and waste scarce material," the expert noted.
That is why mobile machines began to be used at the forefront. Instead of bringing fixed sets from factories, fighters in frontline workshops wind up exactly as much wire as they need for a specific strike. This saves resources and allows you to load the drone with explosives as much as possible.
Fiber-optic drones work ideally as a "mortar with eyes": they find an object at a great distance and destroy it precisely, Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions, told Izvestia. According to him, the specifics of these UAVs dictate new rules for the military-industrial complex. Modern military operations have practically erased the classical concept of the rear: workshops and assembly shops are now shifted as close to the front as possible.
— The main reason is speed. If earlier reviews from the front line went through design bureaus to rear factories for a long time to modernize weapons, today changes are being made from the wheels, right under the immediate challenges of the tactical situation," he said.
The production of communication coils is a prime example. For fiber—optic drones, this is the same consumable as the device itself: how many flights - so many coils. Therefore, the deployment of such assembly lines at the front line is not just a trend, but a strict necessity for uninterrupted combat operation, the expert summed up.
Julia Leonova
