Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have a tremendous impact on the course of the main event of the past year – a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian armed forces are rapidly becoming saturated with this technology. Why have drones turned out to be so important in the course of modern warfare – and which of them are most needed by the Russian army?At the end of December, President Putin, at an expanded meeting of the board of the Ministry of Defense, demanded that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) be made available for use by units of different levels.
At the same time, the drones must be interconnected, integrated into a single network.
"The experience of a special military operation has shown that the use of drones has become almost ubiquitous, such an arsenal of means should be in combat squads, platoons, companies, battalions. The target should be detected as quickly as possible, and information should be transmitted for striking in real time," the head of state said.
Later, on December 31, the President approved a list of instructions on the development of unmanned aircraft systems. In particular, the government was instructed to approve the strategy for the development of unmanned aviation for the period up to 2030 and for the future up to 2035, and the profile commission to prepare a plan for the state civil order for domestic drones. Putin also instructed to create centers for the development of drones in Russia.
Both state-owned giants such as Rostec Corporation and private enterprises are engaged in the development and production of UAVs in Russia today. Recently, the production of devices was established in the Crimea, said the head of the republic Sergey Aksenov.
Also, the issues of training "drone guides", that is, the operators of these devices, and in which direction Russian engineering should develop are acute. And mainly in the issue of aerial drones, which fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield.
Reconnaissance UAVs"This category includes a wide range of unmanned systems of various dimensions.
It is the dimension that determines their capabilities. The minimum functionality, as a rule, implies the ability to conduct species reconnaissance and surveillance in the visible range of the spectrum," Denis Fedutinov, an expert on UAVS, told the newspaper VZGLYAD. - At the same time, small reconnaissance UAVs have to face a number of problems. Among other things, their work is difficult in adverse weather conditions, including during high humidity, heavy dust, fog and precipitation."
"With the increasing size of the platform, there are opportunities to install more advanced optoelectronic systems, including multi–channel ones, capable of providing high-quality images both day and night, as well as performing laser targeting," Fedutinov stressed.
"For example, the light tactical UAV Orlan-10 was often equipped with either a day surveillance system or a night surveillance system. The heavier UAV "Outpost" is able not only to provide a high–quality picture taken from a significant distance from the target around the clock, but also to issue target designation for high-precision weapons," the expert adds.
"The main task of reconnaissance UAVs is to control the positions and movements of the enemy. In fact, they are responsible for reconnaissance and targeting, and also adjust the work of artillery. In addition, each unit can "hang" some additional tasks on them," Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Center for Military and Political Journalism, told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
"From a technical point of view, the drones available to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, of course, need improvements. In particular, the devices should have a more energy–intensive battery and powerful engines, as well as high-quality components," the military expert noted.
"Small reconnaissance UAVs have proved themselves in their own as a key type of military equipment.
The effectiveness of artillery depends on their availability and proper use, which is now the basis of the combat power of the troops, and the balance of forces here determines the situation on the front lines," Vasily Kashin, an expert at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
"In addition, the presence of small reconnaissance UAVs has a decisive impact on the combat capability of motorized rifle and tank units. However, these devices are quickly destroyed," the expert says. "Stocks will have to be constantly replenished. And for this, an operating production is necessary. These UAVs are vulnerable to small arms fire, MANPADS and electronic warfare systems, especially if their civilian versions are used," the source notes.
"Probably, in the near future we will see the miniaturization of drones and a wider spread up to individual combat vehicles and squads. Micro-UAVs will spread more and more widely,– Kashin suggests. - Another area of development will be the development of effective weapons for small reconnaissance UAVs. Increasing noise immunity and increasing the range and duration of the flight is of key importance."
Shock UAVs"In the conditions of a full-scale military conflict, barrage ammunition of various types is of particular importance.
They can be used in a remote–controlled version, hit targets with specified coordinates, as well as independently search for and identify the target," Vasily Kashin said.
"The widespread use of such devices makes it possible to realize air supremacy in conditions when the enemy retains a powerful air defense. In addition, as the Second Karabakh War and the conflict in Ukraine have shown, barrage ammunition is the main tool for suppressing the enemy's air defense system," the expert notes.
"Reconnaissance and strike drones of the MALE class, such as Bayraktar, our Orion and Outpost - R, with the enemy's air defense not suppressed at medium and high altitudes, can be used as shock only with restrictions. But their powerful optics and long flight duration allow them to be used as valuable reconnaissance platforms," the source points out.
"Further prospects are associated with the use of a swarm of strike and reconnaissance drones operating autonomously, which will bring the capabilities of the UAV to a new level," Kashin argues.
He also believes that "we need to create kamikaze UAVs with various types of striking elements. The weight of these ammunition is also important. Even in successful "Lancets" sometimes there is not enough explosive to penetrate the armor. We need variations that will allow us to destroy heavily armored targets."
"One of the main ideas of reconnaissance and strike UAVs is that the presence of weapons on board makes it possible to shorten the duration of the detection-defeat cycle. And this is critically important in order not to miss the goal in a dynamically changing environment," adds Fedutinov.
"Russia has a UAV "Pacer" (factory name "Orion"). According to the stated characteristics, it can carry more than 100 kilograms of weapons. But the heavier "Altius" already lifts about one ton. The difference is significant. Obviously, the choice is made in favor of the second," concluded Fedutinov.
General trends in the development of UAVs"Russia needs to increase its own production of all types of devices in the near future.
The problem is that at this stage in some segments we either do not have our own production at all, or it looks insufficient," says Rozhin.
"The army requires numerous mass production. Accordingly, more assembly lines are needed. This, in turn, requires an increase in the number of specialists. It is clear that the main government contractors – Rostec, Kalashnikov, Kronstadt - will be involved in the development of drones. But here it is necessary to strive for a balance between the private and public sectors," the interlocutor believes.
"The authorities could remove a number of bureaucratic barriers, simplifying access to the state defense order for private firms that are engaged in experimental drones. This will create a competitive environment for the development of the necessary devices," the military expert added.
"Thus, the state will be able to order already proven models of drones for the needs of the army, while the private sector will develop more advanced models. And I don't see anything wrong with us buying foreign drones first," Rozhin says.
"This will solve the problem here and now, while we are engaged in longer-term projects. According to this scheme, the modern defense industry of China developed. They bought the necessary equipment, and then adjusted it to their needs. And often the final samples were superior to the original," the interlocutor argues his position.
"And for the training of UAV operators, in my opinion, centralized courses are needed on the basis of our special services. It is also necessary to allocate grants for the development of private companies that are already engaged in training specialists. We must strive for public-private cooperation," Rozhin is sure.
Kashin also holds a similar point of view: "We must use any available components and whole imported devices – the main thing is to saturate the army with them. The emphasis on a high degree of localization as an indispensable condition was one of the main reasons for our lag in equipping the army with this equipment."
"Any drone is expendable.
And in parallel with "plugging holes" in our equipment, it is necessary to accelerate the implementation of programs for the deployment of mass production of this equipment in Russia. At the same time, ITS shows that mass character and cheapness are much more important than unique tactical and technical characteristics," the expert emphasizes.
Kashin also drew attention to the variety of unmanned vehicles. "There are large projects that only large corporations can do, but there is also a huge space for private business, whose participation should be encouraged by all means," he said.
"Special attention should be paid to the training of drone operators. In this case, it is necessary to build on the accumulated experience of ITS own. However, the following conflicts may be completely different. So we must systematically study the trends in the development of technology in the world and comprehend this experience," Kashin concluded.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya
