Drone expert Fedutinov: The UAV "Cube" is difficult to detect and shoot down
Russian unmanned aerial vehicles of the "Cube" type can become a real nightmare for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Newsweek portal. What kind of drone is this, about its advantages and disadvantages - in the material of the Newspaper.Ru».
According to Newsweek, the improved warhead of the Kub UAV transforms this device into a "more formidable nightmare for the enemy." According to the publication, the ammunition is made of an explosive substance that is 1.7 times more powerful than the traditional mixture of TNT and rdx in this case.
As he told the Newspaper.En" Denis Fedutinov, editor-in-chief of the Unmanned Aviation magazine, the Cube UAV is the first product created in the kamikaze drones segment by the developers of the Izhevsk company ZALA Aero, which later became known for the successful development of the Lancet barrage munition (ZALA Lancet, product 51/52).
Image source: Alexey Panshin/RIA Novosti
Barrage munitions are devices with warheads of various types capable of carrying out a long flight over a given terrain or to a certain point, searching for and then hitting detected ground targets.
The UAV "Cube" is made according to the "tailless" scheme. The device uses a triangular wing with a variable sweep along the leading edge, equipped with tips.
An electric motor rotating a pusher screw is used as a power plant. To some extent, the silhouette of the drone resembles the notorious "Geranium", only on a reduced scale - the mass of the "Cube" is about 15 kg, and the wingspan is about 120 cm.
Advantages and disadvantages
As Denis Fedutinov emphasized, the Kub UAV, due to its small mass and size, the use of composite materials and an electric motor, which causes low acoustic and thermal visibility, is difficult to detect and shoot down with traditional anti-aircraft missiles. These circumstances, along with the secrecy of the launch provided by the use of a portable catapult, make it a fairly successful solution in its segment.
At the same time, as often happens with the first developments, the UAV "Cube" has disadvantages:
*1. Firstly, this is a fairly short flight duration - about 30 minutes, and, as a result, a short range of the UAV. Increasing this parameter would make it possible to move the launch site deeper into the territory controlled by Russian troops, which would reduce the risks for operators. And in the case of a launch near the line of contact, it would make it possible to hit targets located deeper behind enemy lines.
*2. Secondly, it is a small payload - the weight of the onboard payload is about 3 kg. Its increase would lead to the possibility of using a wider range of combat units, which would increase the flexibility of using the Kub UAV and expand the range of targets being hit.
*3. Thirdly, initially the product was devoid of an optical surveillance and targeting system. In fact, his flight was carried out according to the coordinates of the target previously embedded in the control system, detected by other means of reconnaissance.
Denis Fedutinov believes that the addition of a fully functional optoelectronic system would inevitably lead to a significant increase in the cost of the entire complex as a whole. However, compromise solutions are possible here, for example, related to the use of relatively inexpensive optics with subsequent on-board intelligent video processing to adjust the route and guidance in automatic mode on the final flight section.
Work on the project continues at the Kalashnikov Concern. Taking into account the experience of combat use accumulated since the first public demonstration of the complex at the IDEX 2019 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, including within the framework of its own, specialists could refine the above-mentioned points.
In addition, given the prospects for the group use of UAVs as part of mixed groups with reconnaissance and kamikaze drones, as well as groups including several barrage munitions to increase the effectiveness of hitting targets, it is possible that similar solutions could be applied in the case of the Cube.
So the main troubles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine related to the combat use of Russian barrage ammunition have already begun, and troubles of an immeasurably greater scale await the AFU ahead.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok