Analyst Dura: the Russian armed forces have a choice among unmanned helicopters
Analyst Maximilian Dura assessed Russia's capabilities in the field of unmanned attack helicopters. The expert's column was published by the Polish edition of Defence24.
"The Russian armed forces have a lot to choose from, and they can very quickly begin large-scale production of combat unmanned helicopters," the author writes.
The only problem with helicopter-type drones that Russia has, the expert called the lack of properly prioritized priorities in the country's Defense Ministry.
Dura gave several examples of successful Russian projects of helicopter-type drones that can be adapted for shock weapons carriers.
The author noted, in particular, an aerial target-a helicopter simulator (VM-V) capable of being in the air for at least two hours, reaching a maximum altitude of 2.5 kilometers. The expert recalled that according to the claimed characteristics, the Russian device is inferior to the Austrian Camcopter S-100, however, "work on the modernization of unmanned VM-V is a priority."
The fact that Russia decided to improve such drones, Dura assessed as "another signal that the Russians intend to create a fleet of unmanned helicopters — including the strike version."
The Russian helicopter-type drones mentioned in the publication, which, according to the author, allow conversion into shock weapons carriers— are Katran, VRT300, AURA 100, SmartHeli-350 (SH-350), VT 500 and VT 45.
In October 2017, American analyst Samuel Bendett from CNA stated that Russian developments of military unmanned aerial vehicles lag behind similar foreign work, but acknowledged Moscow's leadership in electronic warfare.