Aborted approach: volunteers have created a new means of suppressing UAVs for the military

How the "iron" and other enthusiast developments help Russian fighters in the area of their

Devices developed by skilled volunteers often arrive in the areas of a special military operation along with humanitarian aid. Caring people from all over the country are trying to help the military in any way they can. One of these developments, the UAV suppression system, nicknamed "iron" among the military, has already made a great impression on our fighters. The device not only forces drones to land, but also contributes to their capture, and later reprogramming. About how volunteers help Russian units in the SVO zone — in the Izvestia material.

The green suitcase

This UAV suppression system got into one of the areas of the special operation together with humanitarian aid. And immediately received a "popular" name among the military.

— We called her "the iron". We tried, but this "iron" plants everything. We can't find those who brought it, help! — a combat officer made such a request to familiar volunteers.

The "iron" turned out to be "Ornithologist-1M+", which was created by enthusiasts from Krasnodar. In appearance, the devices are really similar to a popular household appliance. From the outside, the UAV suppression system looks like a small green suitcase with a handle in the middle — you hold it in your hand just like an iron.

Image source: Photo: Eltech-South

Ornithologist-1M+ suppresses drone control and, depending on its settings, forces the UAV to either land, try to return, or hover. When a drone is exposed to a suppression system for three to four minutes, its battery is almost completely discharged. The image transmission system is also suppressed.

— The development lasted six months. Previously, there was a conventional model — "Ornithologist-1", then there was "Ornithologist-1M", touch. There will be another Ornithologist-2 soon. The same format as Ornithologist-1, only for fighting kamikaze drones," Alexander Kamin, the owner of Eltech-YUG, told Izvestia.

Image source: Photo: Eltech-South

According to him, the production of another batch of anti-drone systems is now coming to an end. The company has already supplied about a thousand of them to the war zone.

Possible help

Alexander Kamin — or, as his relatives call him, Uncle Sasha — from the very beginning, he personally sent drones to the fighters, repaired and stitched them as a volunteer.

— That's how I made a lot of military friends. They had anti-drone devices, but they were Chinese, expensive and ineffective. I was asked to do something so that I could take it to the exits and work for a long time. I came up with the first prototype on my knee then. At home, there wasn't even a laboratory yet," he recalls.

Photo: Eltech-South

Image source: iz.ru

His first "jammer" got into Marinka. The Russian fighters tested it and gave positive feedback. Then Alexander began to assemble a team and built the first small laboratory.

— I am a volunteer myself, I know what it is, so we went the way of help. The project is non—commercial, we do not earn money from it, we supply them only to volunteers," Uncle Sasha explained.

Krasnodar residents do not plan to stop at Ornithologist — they have already created a UAV detection device that sees almost all known drones at a distance of up to two kilometers and warns of their approach with sound or vibration. This system was called "Birdman", and it has already passed an official test at the MO training ground, received an excellent rating and was recommended by experts for use in combat conditions.

Competition is the engine of progress

Now there is a struggle between drones and UAV suppression devices in the war zone, so such developments are necessary for the military, military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia.

— Drones are constantly being developed to bypass electronic warfare (EW), which, for their part, are also being improved, closing loopholes, — he explained. — This is a rapidly developing field. And the more competition there is, the more effective tools can be isolated from these ready-made developments. Then they will be actively tested, improved and updated, taking into account feedback from their area directly from those who use them.

Photo: Eltech-South

Image source: iz.ru

The expert noted that volunteers often respond faster to requests from fighters. But this does not negate the fact that the development of larger state structures is necessary.

It is necessary to recreate the association of militant technicians, the associate professor of the Department of Russian University of Economics suggested in a conversation with Izvestia. Plekhanova Colonel Alexander Perendzhiev.

— These are not just volunteers, but let's call them volunteer technicians. We are talking about the actions of voluntary technical craftsmen who directly offer their novelties and know-how. In my opinion, they should be formed as a public organization that will provide assistance to the army," he stressed.

The expert recalled that in the 60s, the book "The Association of Militant Technicians" was even published. And during the Soviet Union, there were various kinds of technical clubs in the country.

Julia Leonova