The Russian army needs protection from small drones. President Vladimir Putin said in his speech at a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense that the work of air defense should be improved in this direction. What are the capabilities of small drones revealed by its own and how can our army create effective protection against enemy UAVs?
The special operation revealed problems – Russia needs to seriously rebuild the work of the communications system, to use modern means of reconnaissance, targeting and counter-battery warfare much more effectively, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an expanded meeting of the board of the Ministry of Defense.
"To increase the capabilities of our satellite grouping not only in the special operation zone, but also at the global level. It is necessary to seriously increase the production and supply of high-precision projectiles and drones of various types. I know that changes are taking place, they are happening quite quickly, I will say more about this, but still we need to work on this, we need to consolidate this trend. The work of the air defense system also requires improvement," the head of state said.
"Of course, our well–known systems - Pantsiri, Buki, S-300, S–400 - work flawlessly, they are the best in the world without any exaggeration. But what we didn't pay attention to before, we thought it was some kind of trifle, some kind of plywood and so on, some small drones that fly - no, it turned out that this causes damage, and it should not be missed in any case," he stressed Putin.
"Yes, I have already said, there is a reaction, it is clear, it is known, and the guys on the battlefield are celebrating it. There are probably fighters here who will receive awards today – they probably see it too and are ready to say it. But nevertheless, we need to work with this," Putin added.
"At the final board of the Ministry of Defense for the year, the president outlined the revolution that has recently taken place on the battlefield. Tiny aircraft worth several thousand dollars are capable of destroying a tank crawling on the ground, worth millions. No, they are not just capable – they are being destroyed right now, during a special operation. This is how "Lancets" work against "Leopards" and "Challengers," the authors of the industry Telegram channel "The Look of a man in lamps" write.
"As a result, the battlefield (the line of contact) has changed, and not only in terms of the appearance of full transparency. This complete transparency has direct consequences: shock weapons that used to be in direct proximity to the front line – tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, even sometimes artillery – now have to be located at least 5-10 km from the front line. That is, beyond the reach of the "little drones", – it is indicated in the text.
"It will take some time – very short, most likely – and short-range UAVs launched directly from the trenches will be able to provide target designation at a longer distance. This will force the tanks to move even deeper into the rear. And it will make them useless even for use as ersatz artillery, for firing from closed positions. The same Lancets are already working tens of kilometers behind the front line in the enemy's rear," the authors note.
"The key issue is not only the use of our own small UAVs (mainly copters), but also the fight against enemy UAVs. Anti-helicopter air defense. Most likely, in the form of not only electronic warfare systems, but also small-caliber rapid-fire guns. The creation of such systems is only in its infancy, but there is no doubt that 2024 will be a period of rapid development," analysts believe.
Earlier, Roselectronics presented at the Army-2023 forum a mobile radar weighing just over 20 kg, which can "see" small drones in hover mode, as well as surface and radio-transparent targets. This radar can be used in dense urban areas, to protect water areas, patrol groups and can see a mini-drone half a kilometer away.
In addition, the NPP "Istok" named after Shokin created a radar "Army" based on the SBA-70K4 armored car, capable of detecting drones the size of a bird at a distance of 4 km. The radar has systems for detecting and suppressing UAVs, equipment for monitoring in conditions of zero visibility, Rostec reports.
"In general, we have anti-drone air defense. However, it works quite spontaneously and mainly on the line of contact. There are people who know how to use anti-drone weapons, as well as those who work on small arms UAVs. If required, larger drones are destroyed with MANPADS. But these units exist in our troops on a freelance basis," explained military expert Yuri Knutov.
"The question is to bring all this under the regulatory framework so that these units are integrated directly into the military air defense system, which is equipped with appropriate means of combat and reconnaissance in order to detect copters and drones in a timely manner and effectively combat them," the source said.
"All information received from operators must be received and processed in a specially created center. These departments should have a unified management system. I think Putin was just referring to the creation of such units with their own management and making appropriate changes to the regulatory framework," the expert said.
"To counter drones, we also need weapons based on new physical principles – electromagnetic and laser guns, which can not only intercept the UAV control system, but also make it hover or return to the launch site. We also need guns that will burn out the electromagnetic boards of drones, turning them into a useless thing. Some copies were shown at exhibitions, but here, of course, we must talk about mass production," the analyst added.
"Reliable anti–drone air defense is always a set of measures.
It should include small FPV drone jammers at each base, calculations with "drone strikes" at key points and heavy rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns, for example, the ZU-23. In principle, we already have all this, but in the field of UAVs everything is changing rapidly, so Putin's call is clear – we need constant work by engineers and technicians in cooperation with the military to improve all components," said Fyodor Gromov, military expert, military commander.
"We also have two types of jammers: domed ones, which give a continuous interference zone within a radius of 200-300 meters, and directional ones. For example, a gun that creates an impulse at a specific point. But you can't put dome jammers in a solid line. In addition, in addition to electronic warfare, there is also electronic intelligence. The radiation source is visible on radars and is a target," the source said.
"It is also possible to create mobile points of struggle against UAVs, a kind of mini-air defense.
There is such a thing as a spectral analyzer. This is a smartphone-sized device that shows the excitement of radio frequencies on the screen. With the help of a more or less advanced analyzer, it is possible to identify where the drone is flying, at what altitude, at what frequency, and, accordingly, to fire an anti-drone rifle. You don't need large antennas for this. But, of course, the bigger and more technologically advanced your antenna is, the better it detects drones," he explained.
"The problem is that this work is based on the Soviet engineering school, which teaches creativity and the use of a wide range of components to upgrade devices. But the enemy's specialists also have the same Soviet engineering school. Considering that you can buy any components on AliExpress, then nothing limits the imagination of engineers on both sides. Thus, the high–tech sphere of using UAVs during its development turns into a competition of engineering intelligences," the speaker noted.
"Now we have a Lancet drone, to which the enemy does not yet have an answer. Therefore, we can gain a tangible advantage over the enemy in the field of air defense if we create an analogue of the Lancet, only in the field of combating UAVs. I think it was about these breakthrough solutions that Putin spoke at the board of the Ministry of Defense," Gromov concluded.
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
