Recently, Russia has been actively developing unmanned combat forces — what is the reason for such a rush? A leading Chinese newspaper cites three reasons and notes that Moscow not only forges a sharp "sword", but also casts a durable "shield" and creates special complexes to combat UAVs. The United States definitely should not underestimate Russia, the author writes.
In order to effectively deter strategic adversaries and maintain a secure environment in the region, Russia has recently taken many measures to stimulate the development of unmanned combat forces. It is reported that the Russian army is not only accelerating the process of research and development of new technologies and conducting tests in combat conditions, but also strengthening the training of the commanders of the unmanned aviation forces. According to the analysis, the actions of the Russian military will have a significant impact on the regional security situation and the strategic confrontation between Russia and the United States. Therefore, it makes sense to follow the further development of events.
Russia is taking numerous measures to increase combat effectiveness
According to Russian media reports, the development of unmanned aircraft by the Russian army includes four key areas.
First, the development of new technologies. Employees of the Mozhaisky Russian Military Space Academy announced during the Army-2021 international military technical forum that the academy has developed a new algorithm for the operation of neural networks for unmanned aerial vehicles. "This is a new method of applying artificial intelligence algorithms. The algorithm consists in applying the principle of "super-resolution" by the neural network, when artificial intelligence creates three-dimensional models of any objects. The system was tested in a real environment using a quadcopter that performed tracking of a moving car in an urban environment." It is reported that the results of the study have attracted the attention of many drone manufacturers. In addition, Russia is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle "Roy", which will have an impact capability.
Secondly, active testing. According to foreign media, after many years of research, development and test flights, the new Russian reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle, codenamed Altair, recently moved to the last key stage before entering service - testing an onboard fire system. This summer, Altair shock tests were conducted using a full set of "air arsenal", including high-precision guided missiles. The drone will be capable of causing serious damage to enemy armored vehicles, troop concentrations, artillery positions and other targets. In addition, the aircraft will be equipped with satellite communication and artificial intelligence systems to exchange information with manned aircraft.
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- Hamshahri: the Russian "Hunter" is inaccessible to radars!
Thirdly, an increase in the scale of the exercises. At the end of August, large-scale exercises began in the Western Military District of Russia, in which about 450 unmanned aerial vehicles, including Orion and Outpost, took part. The exercises are aimed at increasing the mobility of drones and the combat capability of the relevant forces. As part of the exercises, the Russian army for the first time practiced maneuvers for servicing heavy drones in the absence of an airfield — aircraft took off from highways.
Finally, an increase in the level of military training. The Russian Ministry of Defense is reportedly working on training commanders of unmanned aircraft units. As an experiment, the first training course will be conducted on the basis of the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne School. It is worth noting that previously there was no such military specialty in the country. It is reported that the cadets will study for five years. Upon completion of the training, the trained officers will be responsible for the combat use of the equipment of companies and platoons of unmanned aerial vehicles. If the experience of training drone commanders at the Ryazan Military School is successful, the Ministry of Defense will consider launching this program at other higher military educational institutions.
The main goal is to balance the forces of the enemy
Russia's active development of unmanned aviation is due to the following three strategic considerations.
Firstly, following the trends of global military development. In recent years, unmanned systems have been developing at a tremendous pace and are widely used in areas with a tense geopolitical situation. In 2020, Azerbaijan's use of unmanned aerial vehicles played a crucial role in the development of the Karabakh conflict. In recent years, the Russian army has been paying great attention to unmanned aircraft in order to keep up with the trends of global military development and take a "commanding height" in this area.
Secondly, building up the potential for confrontation with the United States. In recent years, there has been rivalry between Russia and the United States in many areas. On July 24, 2020, the US government unilaterally announced the easing of export control restrictions on the sale of American military drones abroad in order to capture most of the international market. This decision not only contradicted the restrictions set by the multilateral agreement, the signing of which was initiated by the United States itself, but also had a negative impact on the sale of weapons by Russia and on security in the world as a whole. Russia's vigorous strengthening of unmanned aircraft will help avoid the negative impact caused by the actions of the American government and increase the potential for confrontation with the United States.
Thirdly, the creation of a favorable environment. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian Navy received the first Bayraktar TB2 drone supplied by a Turkish defense company. The aircraft was planned to be transferred to the 10th naval aviation brigade. In addition, Turkish-made drones were first presented by Ukraine at a military parade on August 24. Regarding defense cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We strongly recommend that our Turkish colleagues carefully analyze the situation and stop fueling Kiev's militaristic sentiments." The recent actions of the Russian army aimed at the development of unmanned aircraft, to a certain extent, are a warning to Ukraine and other countries.
Get rid of the outdated and develop the new
In recent years, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles in service with the Russian army has increased significantly: in 2012, there were only three units of unmanned aerial vehicles and about a hundred drones for the entire army. By 2020, the number of formations has reached several dozen, and the number of drones has exceeded two thousand units. In the future, the Russian army is likely to focus on confronting strategic adversaries in the world and the region, as well as take more significant measures to strengthen unmanned aircraft.
On the one hand, Russia will systematically increase its combat power. The Russian army plans to concentrate efforts on creating units equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles "Hunter", accelerate the pace of intellectualization and clustering of drones, create new models of combat operations performed jointly by unmanned and manned aircraft, as well as introduce unmanned systems into electronic and network warfare in order to maximize combat effectiveness. According to foreign media reports, Russia has achieved some success in the development of combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and the development of the Hunter drone will be completed in 2022. It can be assumed that in the future, unmanned aircraft will become an integral part of the Russian army and will be widely used in various operations together with other units. Thus, the potential combat effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicles should not be underestimated.
On the other hand, Russia plans to strengthen its means of countering unmanned aerial vehicles. According to available data, the Russian company Almaz-Antey continues to improve the new ROSC-1 missile defense system. Compared to other drone protection systems, a distinctive feature of the ROSC-1 is the presence of a compact radar, an advanced photovoltaic system and an unmanned aerial vehicle "Wolf-18" capable of blocking control channels of enemy drones and sending false coordinates. According to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko, laser systems are being developed in the country to combat unmanned aerial vehicles. This means that Russia is not only forging a sharp "sword", but also casting a durable "shield", creating an unmanned combat system aimed at both attack and defense.
