Experts have argued about the role of heavy drones in the area of their
The year 2023 was marked by an unprecedented flourishing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), but one of the varieties of these devices is now being heavily criticized by experts. There were doubts that devices of this class could be useful on the battlefield at all. What kind of UAVs are we talking about and how justified is this criticism?
Since 2024, the national project "Unmanned Aircraft Systems" will be fully operational in Russia. It should become the main management mechanism for the implementation of the strategy for the development of domestic UAVs, which was approved by the government last summer. According to the document, a new branch of the economy related to the creation and use of drones should appear in the country over the next six years.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin at an expanded meeting of the Ministry of Defense announced the need to increase production of UAVs. "It is necessary to seriously increase the production and supply of high-precision projectiles, 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 Kremlin website quotes the head of state.
"It is important to further increase the supply of the most in–demand samples, as I have already said, including the formation of a serial line of unmanned aerial vehicles – from heavy shock and ultra-small vehicles," the president said. The Russian leader also noted the need to involve high-tech businesses and engineering design companies in the development and production of UAVs.
The experience of the special operation has shown that drones are an integral part of modern warfare. They can not only carry out reconnaissance deep into enemy territory, but also cause significant damage to the personnel of the opposing side, destroy equipment and even aircraft.
Due to the fact that unmanned aircraft is a young direction in military affairs, there is no generally accepted international classification of vehicles yet. However, all drones can be divided into several categories. More often than others, there are reports in the media space about the use of FPV drones.
These are relatively small quadrocopters that fighters can control in real time using a special tablet or VR glasses. Such devices are also commonly called kamikaze drones. They are often used once to defeat a small target. However, there were often cases when they were used for reconnaissance over short distances in their military.
Larger vehicles, for example, the Orlan, are already capable of carrying a serious combat load – up to 3 kg. The Orlan develops a speed of 70-150 km / h and can stay in the air for up to ten hours. However, the most famous in the framework of the special operation were the Lancets, which Western countries have already elevated to the rank of "the best Russian weapon" and recognized as a big problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
But there is another class of drones that causes the most controversy in the expert community. These are heavy UAVs. These can conditionally include such Russian devices as the Outpost-R and the Pacer, which is also known by the factory name Orion.
Some analysts point to the loss of relevance of these devices within the framework of their own. But others are confident in the growing relevance of heavy drones. And despite the differences, experts agree on one thing – it is absolutely impossible to abandon the production of heavy drones, especially given the potential military conflicts in which Russia may need to participate.
"Speaking of heavy drones, based on the classification most used abroad, I mean devices of two categories. The first of them is medium–altitude long–duration aircraft, and the second is high–altitude long-duration UAVs," says industry specialist Denis Fedutinov.
"In addition to the long flight duration, which in some models can exceed 24 hours, they are capable of carrying a significant target load, which includes both reconnaissance means – multichannel optoelectronic systems that allow working day and night from long distances, laser rangefinders and designators, radar facilities, electronic and electronic reconnaissance equipment, and shock means in the form of missile and bomb aircraft weapons of various types and capacities," the expert details.
"The most prominent representatives of these categories are the American Predator, Gray Eagle and Reaper devices. They have been widely used by the military and special structures of the United States itself and America's allies in the armed conflicts of recent decades, including Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in anti–terrorist actions," the analyst cites an example.
"Of those drones that are currently being used in the special operation zone, we can name the Russian Outpost-R and Pacer, which is also known by the factory name Orion. And in the future, we hope to see a heavier Altius, also known as Altair, here. The opposing side has machines at its disposal that are approximately between the "Outpost" and the "Pacer" in their dimensions – these are Bayraktar TB2 purchased from Turkey," explains Fedutinov.
In the initial period of ITS operation, high hopes were placed on such devices on both sides.
"The positive image of these drones, created not without the participation of marketing structures of American and Turkish companies, has seriously affected the expectations associated with them," he believes. But the specialist clarifies that even then a number of experts doubted the effectiveness of heavy drones specifically as part of a special operation. "They are slow, non–maneuverable, and also, due to their weight and size characteristics, they are quite noticeable for air defense systems," the analyst explains.
The expert is sure that his experience has confirmed the correctness of this point of view. "Heavy drones were unable to realize their potential during their combat operations and have a noticeable impact on the course of hostilities. Many vehicles were shot down, the remaining ones are used very little," he explains his position.
"If we assume that in the future our geopolitical, and possibly military, rival is the United States or Europe, acting directly or through their proxies, we need significant adjustments in the development and use of UAVs. Other drones are needed for effective use in counteraction conditions. These can be devices using visibility reduction technologies, or technologies using group interaction as part of unmanned systems or mixed manned and unmanned aerial vehicles," Fedutinov suggests. However, he insists –
It is not necessary to write off such drones, since they can even in their current form be effective in the event of conflicts similar to the Libyan or Syrian ones.
"And even in conditions close to those that we observe within the framework of the SVO, a number of functions remain for them," the interlocutor is sure. "So, they can conduct reconnaissance while outside enemy-controlled airspace. The same United States actively uses its heavy Global Hawk and even Reaper drones in flights in international airspace, collecting intelligence a couple hundred kilometers deep into our territory," the analyst says.
"In the future, the use of the same high–altitude Altiuses or other devices close to them in terms of capabilities in order to look into a significant depth of enemy territory, collecting information on ground targets, would be a very useful addition," the expert argues.
The analyst admits that heavy drones can be equipped with radar detection and surveillance devices capable of detecting aerial targets. "In addition, those bombs with UMPC kits that are now being dropped from manned aircraft may well be used from similar drones in the future. Ultimately, in case of failure, it is better to lose a drone, albeit a high–tech one, than a pilot," the speaker emphasizes.
"Well, in addition, I will say that heavy UAVs operating with precision weapons from high altitudes will be able to be used in those areas of the front where enemy air defenses will be knocked out. The resulting gap will open a window of opportunity for striking key targets deep in the territory of the opposing side – MANPADS against high–altitude and even medium-altitude vehicles will be powerless," concluded Fedutinov.
However, Oleg Makarov, a military expert and co-founder of the Watfor project, holds a slightly different point of view. "Before the start of the special operation, when FPV drones were not in use yet, it was believed that a drone was a brigade-level device, or at least a battalion–level one. There was a UAV chief in the brigade, who had several heavy vehicles at his disposal capable of conducting reconnaissance to great depths," he says.
"Today, this concept has been revised. Despite the fact that the emphasis is on small copters, heavy drones have not disappeared anywhere. Otherwise, units with such drones would simply cease to exist. And their task is still the same – conducting reconnaissance behind enemy lines," the analyst adds.
"Of course, the bigger the car, the more noticeable it is for air defense systems. But we all see pictures from the front, where our drones identify the positions of the opposing side at a distance of up to 200 km and feel great at the same time. The whole point is that the Ukrainian air defense is focal",
– the speaker notes. "At the same time, our air defense is almost continuous. As a result, heavy drones are rather inapplicable specifically for the APU. Another detail is that Ukraine has few Soviet air defense systems left. And they save Western complexes, although they would not be enough to cover the entire line of combat contact, stretching for almost 2 thousand km," Makarov continues.
He is also confident that as part of the special operation, heavy drones do not so much need modernization and additional properties, as they need to increase their numbers. "Unfortunately, Russia has a much weaker satellite grouping, and it is necessary to carry out reconnaissance deep into enemy territories. And in order to have situational awareness of what is happening on that front line, we need to fly as deep as possible," the analyst emphasizes.
Summarizing, he noted: "It would be nice for Russia to acquire a certain stock of heavy drones." According to him, this is due to the fact that it is impossible to predict where in the world another conflict may flare up, in which Russia's participation will be required.
