Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Background
Bezpilotniy Letayuschiy Apparat - BPLA
The military operation in Syria confirmed some obvious flaws, primarily in the field of reconnaissance and target designation. For example, Russia had no long-range drones. Some believe that the overall effectiveness of Russian Armed Forces in Syria was limited more by reconnaissance capabilities, rather than by the number of aircraft and the power of weapons. Obviously, the speedy adoption of long-range drones and flight durations, including reconnaissance and strike drills, improving the capabilities of air and space reconnaissance, saturating the Russian aerospace forces with aviation high-precision guided weapons, equipping aircraft with container-based navigation, guidance and target designation, was obviously necessary.
The Russian advantage in UAS capability stemmed largely from lessons learned in a past conflict: Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia. Though the Russians easily defeated Georgia’s tiny military, Georgian forces made extensive use of Israeli-made UAS in ISR roles, illustrating their potential to Russian forces. Soon after, the Russians implemented a massive UAS development program, buying large numbers of Israeli UAS and investing billions in domestic UAS programs. Despite their late start, Russia’s UAS program paid dividends in Ukraine. A U.S. Army spokesman, said in a recent interview, that Russian drones are a major contributing factor to the rebel’s extraordinarily accurate artillery.
The Russian military stressed a need for advanced reconnaissance systems in the wake of the brief military conflict with Georgia in August 2008, when the effectiveness of Russian military operations was severely hampered by a lack of reliable intelligence. The conflict in South Ossetia demonstrated that although Russian troops had overwhelming advantage in artillery and armoured troops, the reconnaissance and communications systems appeared to be the “Achilles’ heel” of Russian Army. The RF army still had not implemented pilotless reconnaissance vehicles, which NATO members and Georgia has already adopted. According to various estimates, the Russian military needed up to 100 UAVs and at least 10 guidance and control systems to ensure effective battlefield reconnaissance.
With skies contested by large numbers of highly lethal counter-air systems and a pressing need for full spectrum ISR, Moscow and Kiev both deployed large numbers of UAS in support of their operations in the Crimea. Both sides used unarmed reconnaissance drones to inform their forces about the opponent’s movements and positions. One UAS capability in particular has emerged as a substantial enabler: target acquisition for artillery. One analyst described the UAS targeting of the Russian-backed separatists as the most significant difference-maker in a conflict between otherwise equal forces. Ukraine’s military had not invested heavily in UAS capabilities; as a result, Ukraine’s forces resorted to improvising new homemade drones and buying whatever they can from allies and the commercial market. In contrast, Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine had access to cutting edge UAS technology. Moscow supplied these rebels with both indigenous Russian and foreign systems, including from Israel, France, and China. In addition, the rebel’s electronic warfare systems far exceed that of Ukraine, allowing the rebels to control the electromagnetic spectrum and effectively neutralize Ukrainian UAS while allowing their own freedom of maneuver.
Russian drones confirmed to be operating in the Crimea include the Orlan-10, the Granat-1, and the Takhion. All of these drones are tactical: they are physically small and fly low, slow profiles. All have modular ISR packages and all are used in conjunction with artillery units to increase accuracy in the target location and response in counterfire. Separatist forces claim that the Granat-1 doubles the accuracy of artillery battalions equipped with them. Typically, rebel forces are equipping artillery battalions with tactical UAS, usually at the target acquisition platoon. Russian tactical UAS can be moved into position and launched very quickly ( under 20 minutes), allowing artillery battalions to utilize these systems in support of rapidly moving maneuver units. The systems utilize modular sensor suites allowing commanders to tailor the sensor to the mission and conditions; optical sensor s for good weather, IR or electronic surveillance for bade weather, audio and flash sensors for counterfire missions. These UAS digitally pass accurate target location data to their operators, who are closely integrated with shooters. Minimal restrictions allow shooters to engage and destroy targets rapidly, even when targets are concealed or hardened. Most of these UAS do not need to overfly hostile territory and conduct their ISR from standoff distances.
By 2012 two Russian companies, Tranzas Company in St. Petersburg and Sokol Design Bureau in Kazan were engaged in developing Predator-class drones. In 2011, they won the Russian Defence Ministry’s tender and are developing two vehicles. The payload of the first is about one ton. The second one is close to the American Predator and weighs about 4.5-5.0 tons. Naturally, the characteristics of drones that should meet the Defence Ministry’s demands have not been revealed. However, the designers will do their best to bring them close to the world standards. In short, they will be similar to other unmanned aerial vehicles, says editor-in-chief of the Moscow-based “National Defence” magazine Igor Korotchenko.
The main thing is to carry out hours-long flights and select targets as well as assure remote control and targeting by operators who are staying several thousand kilometers away from the drone. Consequently, there should be a satellite communication system. Concerning weapons that could be used for launching attacks, this issue has not been solved yet because the project is at its early stage. In Russia, UAVs will be used first and fore most in the North Caucus to monitor the situation and eliminate militant groups.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in June 2013 that aerial drones being developed in Russia for the military were inferior to similar foreign models. Russia has reportedly signed two UAV contracts with Israel. Under the first contract, signed in April 2009, Israel delivered two Bird Eye 400 systems (worth $4 million), eight I View MK150 tactical UAVs ($37 million) and two Searcher Mk II multi-mission UAVs ($12 million). The second contract was for the purchase of 36 UAVs, worth a total of $100 million, to be delivered in 2010. The shipment, however, has not been confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia's Kronshtadt defense company has developed a new- generation heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military purposes, a senior company official said on 04 August 2009. "The Kronshtadt engineers have developed a heavy Dozor-3 UAV with a lift-off weight of 600 kg and a payload of 100 kg, which could be used as a strike aircraft," said Viktor Godunov, member of the company's board of directors. "It can carry various types of reconnaissance equipment and weaponry," he added.
For comparison, the American MQ-9 Reaper hs a maximum takeoff weight 10,500 pounds (4,760 kilograms), and the Global Hawk has a maximum takeoff weight of 32,250 pounds (14628 kilograms). In 2011, the Tranzas won the Defense Ministry's tender for the development of two kinds of heavy drones, the "Pacer" and Altius-M, which weigh 1 metric tons and 5 metric tons, respectively.
The Russian military is planning to purchase aerial drones in the United Arab Emirates, a defense industry source said 17 July 2013. “We are talking about at least two United 40 Block 5 models developed by the company ADCOM Systems,” the source told RIA Novosti. United 40 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), designed to carry out near real-time combat assessment, special and reconnaissance operations and communications relays. The vehicle can carry up to 10 air-to-ground missiles with a delivery range of 60 kilometers and fly for up to 120 hours, according to the developer. The United 40 Block 5 model was unveiled at the IDEX arms show in Abu Dhabi in February 2013, and the vehicle was first tested in flight in March. Its estimated cost is $20-30 million. ADCOM Systems, a group of firms headquartered in Abu Dhabi, specializes in manufacturing UAVs, aerial targets, air traffic control radar systems, and advanced communication systems.
Experts believe that Russia is not lagging behind in this area. "From the point of view of theory, engineering and design ideas, we are not in the last place in the world," the vice -president of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Issues Vladimir Anokhin told Pravda.ru in October 2013.
According to him, "the Israelis who former Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov would like to purchase drones from, use metal in their UAVs. "Our scientists were the first, in fact, the only ones to create a UAV made from composite materials, which will enable them to not only be lighter and more durable, but also unreachable for the air defense radars," he said.
"We have wonderful teams that have spent decades working on this," said Vladimir Anokhin. "But we do not have enough hands. We do not have the industrial base, we do not have skilled workers who could produce a massive amount of those drones that we need so much now."
"Indeed, due to a number of reasons, the development of unmanned aerial vehicles in Russia has been somewhat neglected. Currently, the Ministry of Defense of Russia is working to remedy this situation by initiating and funding a program to create a range of UAVs of different types and class," Denis Fedutinov, a Russian expert in the field of unmanned systems, said in October 2013.
According to him, in the absence of official comments from both the developers and the military, the characteristics of the currently developed devices can be discussed only tentatively. "The niche of MALE-class UAVs is currently occupied by the projects implemented by "Transas" and "Sokol." This means that we are obviously talking about a larger UAV, that is likely comparable in terms of weight and size with the parameters of the projects of Boeing (Phantom Ray) and Northrop Grumman (X-47B)," said the expert.
"In addition, we know that the prototype of an attack drone "Skat" shown by "MiG" a few years ago at one of MAKS airshows had a declared take-off weight of 10 tons. I think "Sukhoi" company that, compared to "MIG," so to speak, performed in a heavier weight category, will offer a heavy drone with a possible take-off weight of about 20 tons," said Denis Fedutinov.
Responding to a question about the purpose of such drones, he said that a parallel with the aforementioned US attack drone programs created for pinpoint strikes on various stationary and moving targets both on land and at sea during periods when the opponent has a working air defense system was possible. According to Vladimir Anokhin, "this is an opportunity to expand the capabilities of the Air Force and aviation as a whole.... Drones can be sent to combat zones, to explore and carry out regular observations, without risking human lives. This is the next step in the development of aviation that has future".
The Russian Air Force is to receive its first unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) into service by 2020. It was expected as of June 2014 that state trials or field tests of the new UCAVs may start in 2017. According to Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov, research and development work for this project is now nearly complete. Drone fighters are able to tackle strategic tasks because they are difficult to detect and have better combat sustainability than manned aircraft.
The first tender for developing UCAVs was awarded to several design bureaus. The Yakovlev design bureau presented drafts of an unmanned combat air vehicle called Skad. In its appearance and technical characteristics, it was very similar to the American X-47 model. Its main characteristics were announced to be the following: maximum take-off weight, 10 tons; range, 4,000 km; a flight speed of at least 800 km per hour. It will be capable of carrying two air-to-surface/anti-radiation missiles or two smart bombs with a total weight of no more than one ton.
The second winner was the Sukhoi design bureau with a project called the X-40. There is very little information about it available. Its design is likely to "inherit" characteristics from the famous Su fighters and to become a prototype for a sixth-generation fighter. This is what Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov has indicated, hinting that the future strike aircraft will be created on the basis of technologies used in the fifth-generation fighter T-50.
In mid-February 2014, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the ministry intended to spend 320 billion rubles (about $8.8 billion) by 2020 on a program of supplying the Russian armed forces with unmanned aerial vehicles. It is not clear which specific UAVs this money will be used to purchase. All recent exhibitions of unmanned combat air vehicles for the Defense Ministry have consisted of two parts. The first is an open one, presenting tactical and semistrategic aircraft, which are frequently manufactured under license or use an imported component base. These are usually dual-purpose UAVs.
The second is a closed one, where ministry officials have been able to see strategic aircraft. At one of such exhibitions, according to a source close to the Defense Ministry, Shoigu was shown a solar-powered strategic aircraft. The drone was so big that it could not be brought to the exhibition and was shown to the defense minister via a video link. Experts point out that the fact that some exhibitions are held behind closed doors indicates that Russia has prototypes that it is best not to publicize. All the more so, since a drone's main strength lies not in its aerodynamic characteristics but in the intellectual content of the software used to operate it.
In December 2014, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian military received 179 new UAVs in 2014, which was "almost as many as we received in all the previous years."
The Russian military is putting the finishing touches to its very own heavy military UAV. The drone is part of a wider modernization effort. The drone “already exists,” according to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov in January 2015. The heavy UAV, created in cooperation with the Federal Security Service (FSB), will perform “a variety of tactical, operational and strategic tasks,” said Borisov, but he didn’t give any further details such as the name of the vehicle.
Russia's new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including the Eleron, Orlan-10, Forpost and Gorizont drones, were to be unveiled at the inaugural Army-2105 international forum scheduled for June 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "Complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles, both short and medium range, as well as helicopter drones will be presented as part of the first Army-2015 International Forum," the ministry's press release read.
RAC "MiG" planned to submit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation proposals on the appearance of an unmanned aerial vehicle with a mass of 5 tons by the end of 2015. As reported in August 2015, Sergei Korotkov, who then held the post of general director of the company, research and development work to select the appearance of such a drone were conducted within the framework of the contract concluded with the agency. Later Ilya Tarasenko, General Director of RAC MiG, said that the Russian prospective interceptor PAK DP (a long-range long-range intercept aircraft), which is being developed to replace the MiG-31, could become unmanned in the future.
A new attack drone will be created by Sukhoi by 2018. The drone is currently under development. The new attack drone will weigh at least 20 tons. According to experts, Russia has the potential of creating the most advanced UAVs, but there are some problems.
The UAV being developed by Sukhoi will be based on technical solutions of fifth-generation fighter T-50. Work in this area is conducted by several firms. For example, "Sokol" experts plan to complete the creation of the UAV whose weight does not exceed five tons by 2015-2016. "Transas" company has been working on a one-ton drone since 2011. The developers are hurried by the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Russia has almost caught up on its foreign rivals in respect to manufacturing military unmanned aerial vehicles, Borisov said 07 September 2016. "Just a few years ago, we were criticized for lagging seriously behind in this area. As of today, I think we have almost caught up," Borisov told Rossiya 24 broadcaster in an interview on the sidelines of the Army-2016 international military forum. He added that Russia had reached the level of top world armies in drone manufacturing.
American analyst Samuel Bendett of CNA (Center for Naval Analysis) believed that Russian developments of military unmanned aerial vehicles lag behind similar foreign works, but recognizes the country's leadership in the electronic warfare, according to Breaking Defense in October 2017. According to Bendett, in developing unmanned systems, Russians still lag behind "from the Chinese, Iranians and Turks", as well as Americans. The expert gave several examples.
According to Bendett, the development of the first Russian heavy drones Altair is behind schedule and does not fit into the budget, as a result of which the creation of the product may be delayed. The expert noted that just before the report of the director of the enterprise creating the combat drones, the Kazan OKB named after Simonov, was removed from his post (in fact, the documents were seized at the bureau, and investigators talked with Alexander Gomzin, his supervisor).
The drone Orion is suspiciously similar to the Iranian Shahed. The main Russian drones "Forpost" is borrowed from Israel, where the name Searcher is produced by the IAI concern. The specialist notes that drones developed directly in Russia are usually smaller in size than foreign ones.
The Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC) MiG is working to create shock and reconnaissance drones weighing from 1 to 15 tons, their prototypes will appear in the coming years. This was announced on 14 November 2017 by the official representative of the corporation Anastasia Kravchenko at the exhibition Dubai Airshow 2017. "These are reconnaissance and strike targets, different classes for different tasks," she said, answering the relevant question. Kravchenko added that prototype drones will be created "in the coming years." These devices will be in three categories - from one ton to five, from five to ten and from ten to fifteen.
The interlocutor of Interfax informed about the tests of heavy drone UAV "Altius-O" weighing more than 7.5 tons, developed by the Kazan OKB named after Simonov. Deputy General Director of Techmash (part of Rostek) Alexander Kochkin told Interfax in March 2018 that the concern had begun developing a combat load for unmanned vehicles, which could be either short-range weapons or air bombs.
The general designer and vice-president of UAC Innovation, Sergey Korotkov, told Interfax in December 2017 that Russia is working on creating drone drones that can be organized into groups and coordinated among themselves through secure communication channels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at the Russian Defense Ministry's board in late 2017 that, with the implementation of the new state weapons program, special emphasis will be placed on equipping troops with precision weapons, unmanned strike complexes, as well as with the newest systems of reconnaissance, communications and electronic warfare.
In October 2017, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported on plans to equip the Russian Armed Forces with shock drones. "In the near future, to equip the Armed Forces will begin to receive complexes with multi-functional unmanned aerial vehicles, capable of solving not only reconnaissance but also shock tasks," Shoigu said.
Currently, the largest UAV, which is in service with the VCS and the Ground Forces, is the "Outpost". A drone weighing 456 kilograms is produced at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant under an Israeli license. The length of the glider is 5.85 meters, the wingspan is 8.55 meters, the flight duration is 16 hours.
The Syrian operation revealed a shortage of heavy-duty vehicles. However, the Ministry of Defense was concerned about Russia's lag in the field of drones long before the transfer of troops to the UAR. In the middle and at the end of the 2000s, projects were launched to develop several promising devices at once.
In coming years, the troops get the UAV "Zenica" weighing about one ton, drone "Pacer" weighing 1.2 tons, a five-ton machine "Altair" (design bureau named Simon, and the company "Kronstadt") and 20-ton hammer drone "Hunter" ( the offspring of the Sukhoi Design Bureau), made according to the "flying wing" scheme.
In Russia, several types of unmanned strike ["percussion"] aircraft are being developed: in addition to the Orion (1 ton weight) and the Carnivors (150 kg mass), the Altair reconnaissance-impact drone weighing up to 5 tons and the sixth-generation heavy drone (weight up to 20 tons was announced). Also at the Victory Parade on May 9, 2018, the Corsair and Katran shock drones were displayed.
Izvestia reported 12 May 2021 that the Ministry of Defense had decided to gradually re-equip the reconnaissance squadrons of the Aerospace Forces from aircraft to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Now these units are equipped with specially modernized Su-24MRs, created on the basis of the famous Soviet front-line bomber. According to experts, the Orion UAV and the promising Altius UAV, capable of covering many thousands of kilometers, will be able to replace the Sukhoi. At the same time, the defense department is not going to give up completely from manned reconnaissance aircraft. If necessary, these functions will be performed by Su-34 fighter-bombers, modernized according to the Sych project. These vehicles can use unified suspended reconnaissance containers. There are three options for them: optoelectronic, radio engineering and radar.
The Russian Defense Ministry developed a program in early 2022 for the development of attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), designed for several years. The implementation of the program is designed for five years. First of all, the emphasis is on the development of heavy attack unmanned aerial vehicles of a new type and their integration into the combat formations of the Russian Armed Forces. This includes such machines as "Pacer", "Hunter", "Altius", etc.
Russian Vice Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who was in charge of supervision of the defense industry, said in June 2022 that Russia “has access to almost all types of unmanned military aerial systems, including reconnaissance, attack, tactical, operational and operational-tactical models.” At the same time, he didn’t deny that Russia “should’ve recognized the benefits of drones much earlier.” Answering questions about the “shortage of drones,” Borisov promised to “ramp up production,” adding, “it takes time.” This may be interpreted as a sign that Russia considers Iranian drones to be a temporary solution until Russian drones are put into service.
InformNapalm offered analysis of Russian information operations around unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) amid Russia’s chronic lag in these technologies. The review was prepared by Yevhen Hriniov, a participant in the Russian-Ukrainian war who has combat experience in the use and countering of UAVs. " the Russian mass media and industry sources had promoted the position that UCAVs were unsuitable for use in high-efficiency conflicts; the Russians had viewed them rather as a toy for military operations in third world countries. This could be explained both by the conservative thinking of the Russian command, which was educated on the classical concepts dating back to the Cold War times, and by the complete inability of the Russian military-industrial complex to master the production of modern microelectronics."
In 2022 operations in the Donbas, Ukraine "shot down or forced to land multiple Russian reconnaissance UAVs like Forpost, Granat, Eleron, and Orlan. Their examination revealed that almost all internal components of these UAVs, with the exception of the airframes and parachutes, were foreign-made civilian-grade products. For example, Orlan has a Chinese-made GPS tracker, a US-made starter-generator PTN78020 from Texas Instruments Inc., a Japanese-made engine from SAITO SEISAKUSHO CO. LTD., flight control hardware from the European concern STMicroelectronics, and a US-made telemetry controller from Microchip."
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