In particular, according to the president of the concern Alan Lushnikov, "tremendous prospects" exist for guided missiles "Whirlwind"
MOSCOW, August 10. /tass/. Kalashnikov Group intends to develop the development of barrage ammunition and reconnaissance drones, the concern sees the main prospects in the production of ammunition with autonomous guidance. Kalashnikov President Alan Lushnikov said this in an interview with Kommersant newspaper published on Wednesday.
"The future of military operations is likely to be associated with the confrontation of systems that use physical, digital and electronic means of warfare. In this regard, we, in turn, believe that we should develop the niche that we have already occupied in the tactical link: barrage ammunition, reconnaissance drones," Lushnikov said.
In particular, according to him, "tremendous prospects" for the guided missiles produced by the concern "Whirlwind". "I will not disclose details yet, but we are doing this tightly and seriously. Good groundwork on technologies and competencies has already been formed: the product has already begun to be tested and work confidentially with the customer on implementation," he said.
According to Lushnikov, currently global manufacturers are actively working on algorithms for autonomous targeting in the image of a target without further support from the firing platform or the shooter after aiming and launching. "The ammunition is flying in the picture and therefore can be aimed at a moving target. This is where we are going and what we are working on, but I cannot disclose the details yet," he stressed.
The President of the Kalashnikov Group noted that the concern is constantly modernizing the work of all means and is in direct contact with the Ministry of Defense on this issue. In addition, Lushnikov positively assessed the effectiveness of the use of Lancet and CUBE drones during a special operation in Ukraine, saying that they should not be compared with Turkish Bayraktars.
"The comparison is incorrect. This [Bayraktar] is a car of a completely different purpose. The CUBE is a plane packed with explosives, which should arrive exactly on target," said the owner of the Kalashnikov. He also said that the Lancet and the CUBE are not designed to work on moving targets. According to him, "this is not a disadvantage, but a feature of the use" of the concern's drones.
The Kalashnikov Concern is one of the world leaders in the production of combat small arms. The flagship of the domestic rifle industry: it accounts for about 95% of the production of small arms. The plant also produces high-precision ammunition and special equipment, remote-controlled combat modules. The civilian product segment includes hunting carbines, sporting rifles, machine tools and tools. Kalashnikov products are supplied to more than 27 countries.
The company's civilian products are manufactured under the Kalashnikov Engineering brand. It includes universal screw-cutting lathes, hybrid machining centers, CNC lathes, electroplating equipment (mechanized etching lines and automatic chrome plating lines), CNC milling machines. The main part of civilian products is produced within the framework of import substitution.