Molniya will be able to deal with attack and reconnaissance UAVs as part of a mobile complex.
Tests of a new Lightning interceptor drone designed to combat aircraft-type drones have been completed in the Tomsk Region. The device can reach speeds of up to 330 km/h, is equipped with a warhead and can operate as part of a mobile air target detection and destruction system. The developers have already prepared the production for mass production. The characteristics of the new drone and its prospects are described in the Izvestia article.
Characteristics of the Lightning interceptor drone
The name "Lightning" is very popular among the creators of drones. Izvestia previously wrote about one of them, an aircraft—type kamikaze drone with FPV control. But the specialists of the Scientific and Production Center "Unmanned Aircraft Systems" of the Tomsk region gave the same name to a lighter interceptor drone.
A distinctive feature of the Tomsk engineers' Lightning is its high speed, up to 330 km/h. This is not a record, but it is a very high indicator for a relatively inexpensive and ready—to-mass-produce device. The speed is provided by four motors and a streamlined design.
The second important point is that with a mass of 2.5 kg, the Lightning is equipped with a 300—gram warhead. It's not much, but it's more than enough to destroy an airplane-type kamikaze drone, a reconnaissance drone, or a large quadcopter. Many previously created devices of a similar purpose are designed exclusively for kinetic interception without a warhead, and in the case of relatively heavy drones, success is not guaranteed. It also combines high speed and a powerful warhead. In other words, he blows up any real target.
NPC BAS of the Tomsk region has its own production facilities and has carried out extensive work to launch mass production on a domestic component base.
— We have launched an independent release of many important components of future drones. For example, we make electric motors and structural elements ourselves, and we assemble UAV electronic components," says Denis Melikov, head of the NPC BAS.
The use of Lightning interceptor drones is planned in conjunction with a target detection and tracking system. The data on the detected drones is processed by the computer of the command center, and the combat work of the interceptors begins on the selected targets.
The destruction of targets is possible at a distance of 1.5 to 5 km, and the maximum flight range of the device itself reaches 15 km. At the initial and marching stages of the flight, the interceptor is controlled by radar data, and at the final stage, the homing mode is activated by visual contact of the drone with the target. At night and with poor visibility, it can use a thermal imaging video channel.
The warhead provides a range of five meters, which guarantees the destruction of the target even with a small miss. After hitting a target, the system monitors changes in its movement parameters and decides whether to restart. The entire interception complex, along with the radar, is mounted on a vehicle and can carry three to five or more drones.
Advantages of drones as a means of interception
The fight against drones has become a serious challenge for traditional air defense systems. Modern drones vary significantly in both size and motion parameters. Therefore, the task of detecting and defeating them is on the verge of the capabilities of air defense systems that were created to destroy airplanes, helicopters and cruise missiles, that is, targets that differ from most drones in both size and materials.
There is another factor — the cost of hitting targets. The price of almost all drones is several times or even orders of magnitude lower than the cost of the simplest anti-aircraft missiles: a kamikaze drone can cost $ 30-50 thousand, while an anti—aircraft missile costs hundreds of thousands or millions. This means that the fight against drones for conventional air defense systems is incredibly expensive. Therefore, specialized interceptor drones, which are comparable in cost, are considered one of the most promising means of combating UAVs today.
The interceptor must have a higher speed than the kamikaze drones of the aviation type. If the conditional Ukrainian "Fierce" flies at a speed of about 150 km / h, then the interceptor should reach 200-250 km / h or more. Further, such a device should have a range that allows it to be used in conditions of visual target detection, that is, up to about two to three km. And, of course, the use of such a drone should not be difficult — it is desirable that the guidance is automated and does not require any unique skills from the operator of the interceptor drone.
"The need for interceptor drones is very high,— military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia. — Today they are becoming one of the main means of destroying enemy drones. In terms of accuracy and cost, they have very good characteristics. They need as many as possible, because the enemy uses a lot of UAVs, and their production is increasing with the help of European allies.
In addition to the interceptor, NPC BAS produces several helicopter-type vehicles, conducts tests of aircraft-type drone models, including the medium-sized Polkan with the ability to deliver 40 kg of cargo over a distance of 200 km and the Owl with a range of 1000 km. The structure of the NPC allows combining the development and serial production of aircraft of various classes and the creation of a Lightning interceptor drone - this is a serious success of the designers and the result of a combination of bold solutions, modern technologies and production capabilities.
Dmitry Kornev
Roman Kretsul
