Paired complexes have proven their effectiveness in destroying drones.
Rapid attacks by interceptor drones, the roar of machine-gun bursts and aerial somersaults of downed drones — this is how a demonstration of the Zveroboy and Kalitka air defense systems took place at a training ground near Moscow. The latest anti-drone systems hit all the UAVs attacking the supposedly strategically important facility. Their work looks not only impressive, but also effective. Long-range Ukrainian vehicles shot down on approach to our infrastructure facilities were displayed in front of the shooting center.
Releasing the Kraken
There is a buzzing sound in the air, and only a few minutes later an airplane-type drone appears on the horizon. The gray glider practically merges with the autumn forest. Only a dot is visible, which periodically disappears against the background of the trees. The UAV is a target imitating a Ukrainian long-range kamikaze drone. Despite the fact that he is sneaking over the trees, our anti-drones have been targeting him for a long time.
A black pickup truck with a rotating module stands near the earthen shaft, which holds the UAV in its sights. It includes day cameras, a laser rangefinder and a thermal imager.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
Image source: iz.ru
Containers are installed in the back of the pickup truck — Kraken-type drones are hidden in them for the time being. They are capable of catching up and destroying any piston-powered long-range drone of the enemy.
"Ready to fight!" Fire! — a quiet command is heard.
Immediately, a special container opens in the back of the pickup truck, from which the Kraken slowly flies out. He slowly rises vertically upwards, and then abruptly picks up speed and arrowheads away towards the UAV. A few seconds later, he intercepts a drone simulating an enemy attack drone. In combat, the Kraken would have operated at maximum proximity to the target, destroying it with explosive energy and shrapnel. At the training ground, he makes a victory lap over a slower-moving opponent, after which the operators return him to base.
Next, the automated air defense system "Kalitka-KA" comes into play — this is an automatic turret mounted on a swamp walker with a PKT machine gun. It is equipped with day cameras, a laser rangefinder and a thermal imager. It independently captures the target and, after an appropriate command from the operator, fires preemptively at any time of the day.
"The gate"
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
At the training ground, a UAV imitating a kamikaze drone makes a circle and launches a frontal attack on an object that is located immediately behind the "Gate". But after the second machine-gun burst, the sound of its engine stops. The drone glides for a while, then loses speed, falls on the wing and falls to the ground.
— The engine was most likely hit, — Timofey Luchinkin, Hero of Russia, who is responsible for the demonstration of new equipment, explains to us.
But the attack of the imaginary enemy does not end there. Small FPV drones are being shown in the sky. The Kalitka machine gun "clicks" them one by one at a distance of more than 100 meters.
After making sure that the system perfectly fulfills the targets, the operators pass the FPV to the anti-aircraft point, where there is a tripod installation of two Kalashnikov machine guns of 7.62 caliber. And if the "Gate" destroyed small FPV drones with two or four bursts, then the machine gunner needs to work a little more so that the drone falls like a stone into the grass.
"The propellers seem to have been shot off," the anti—aircraft gunners diagnose.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
Image source: iz.ru
The last UAV is allowed to hit a submachine gunner with an AK-12. The magazines of his machine gun are equipped with multi-bullet anti-drone cartridges.
A fighter with a machine gun is the last frontier on the drone's path to an important protected object. "St. John's Wort" with "Kraken" and "Gate" should not allow such a duel — that's exactly what they were made for.
Alan Lushnikov, the head of the Kalashnikov concern, said that the Kalitka automated system and the St. John's Wort air defense system began to be intensively used.
"We already have experience in the combat use of these complexes to protect critical and important facilities," he said.
The conceptual approach
Working in pairs, "St. John's Wort" and "Kalitka" is a universal system for covering strategic and critically important facilities developed by the Kalashnikov concern. It has a single control center, which collects all the necessary information about the air situation. The new domestic Uzor software is responsible for data processing.
St. John's Wort
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
If necessary, the Krona short-range anti-aircraft missile system can be included in the defensive contour. He has successfully passed the preliminary tests and will be released for state testing by the end of the year, Alan Lushnikov noted.
This complex is designed to protect important buildings and structures for both civilian and military purposes. It includes a combat vehicle based on the BTR-80, as well as a radar and a command post. The calculation includes two people.
— The combat vehicle has six anti-aircraft guided missiles in its arsenal. The range of damage is from one kilometer to six and a half kilometers, and it can reach targets at an altitude of up to three and a half kilometers," said Andrei Korobkov, an employee of the concern.
An accurate hit
Until recently, we did not have such complexes, military expert Yuri Knutov told Izvestia.
— Now our main enemy in the sky is the long—range drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the tandem of "St. John's Wort" and "Gate" has arrived in time to fight them. They should significantly increase the effectiveness of our air defense," he explained.
He also recalled that this area is now actively developing and recently other similar air defense systems have appeared in Russia, for example, the Citadel.
"St. John's Wort" and "Kalitka" have undergone a baptism of fire — they have more than one enemy UAV shot down. You could look at some of them on the site in front of the shooting complex. The largest is a long—range drone "Fierce" with a length of about four meters and a wingspan of about seven. Such devices can strike targets at a distance of more than one thousand kilometers.
It can be seen that it was destroyed with the help of "St. John's Wort" — the close rupture of the Kraken with high-explosive fragmentation destroyed the nose of the UAV and severely cut the hull and wings with fragments. On one of the planes there is a wish for everyone to go to hell, written in Ukrainian.
But the enemy's plans to create hell on earth were thwarted by the precise work of our anti-aircraft gunners. With the advent of new air defense systems, the chances of enemy drones breaking through and damaging our rear facilities should be significantly reduced.
Bogdan Stepovoy
