Hi-82 / Privet-82
Volunteer formations in the special operation zone can receive kamikaze drones of the Hi-82 / Privet - 82 aircraft type as early as April 2023. "Privet-82" can be used in counter-battery combat. The drone flight range is up to 30 km, flight speed is up to 140 km/h. Payload - up to 5.5 kg.
Volunteer design bureau (KB) "Oko", created by enthusiasts, specializes in the creation of ultra-cheap multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicles. "At the moment, 33 serial samples of the Privet-82 kamikaze drone have been made. We are collecting applications and preparing for shipment several batches that have already been purchased from us for testing in a special operation. They will be used by volunteer associations. We expect that the drone will start working in special operation zone since April of this year," the organization said.
The approximate cost of one Hi-82 drone is 110,000 rubles [ less than $1500]. Oko is a young design bureau that has no licenses and does not participate in the state defense order. “As a civilian design bureau, Oko has no right to make weapons. We are making a carrier. Accordingly, the warhead is installed at the discretion of a particular unit. We came across different options for wishes regarding the payload: it can be both ammunition and some kind of homemade ", the bureau said.
"It is possible to use our drone during the assault on fortified areas. In addition, there is a big request to use the drone as a hunter for armored vehicles, but for this it is necessary to first conduct a series of tests," the design bureau said.
The immediate goal of the bureau is to enter the full-scale serial production of the Hi-82 drone. "At the moment, we can produce about 100 drones per month. Due to the fact that we use only civilian technologies in production, we can scale up quite quickly, within a few months, and produce several thousand devices monthly. In the future, we plan to upgrade the drone "Privet -82" into a front-line bomber, which will be able to drop ammunition and return back," the organization said.
The new kamikaze drone is based on an analog FPV system. Simply put, a VR headset is used to control "Privet-82". Loitering ammunition can stay in the air for more than 20 minutes. During this time, he manages to cover a distance of up to 20 km. An elastic catapult is used to launch the drone. Propagandists claim that thanks to the repeater assembled by Russian engineers, "Privet" is able to cover up to 3 km of the way, being close to the ground. Unlike other FPV drones, it does not lose contact with the operator. Thus, UAVs are difficult to detect and shoot down.
Already at the beginning of the special operation, it became clear that unmanned aerial vehicles play a full-fledged role in it, and many Russian developers began to produce various copters, combat FPV drones (first-person view). Established in 2022 by IT specialists Andrey Ivanov and Vadim Zhernov, the Oko Design Bureau decided from the very beginning to turn society’s idea of drones.
The St. Petersburg Design Bureau is one of the rare and few in Russia manufacturers of aircraft-type devices, and super-cheap and multifunctional ones. “We immediately had the idea to try to make something as simple as possible, cheap, which could be produced in large quantities, which was of great interest to the troops. At first, there were some illusions that Russian quadrocopters would appear literally in the first - in August 2022. Therefore, we undertook to do a more complex, difficult thing: a cruise missile to destroy non-critical infrastructure "Privet-120," says Ivanov.
According to the creators, the new cruise missile carrying a 120-millimeter mine was supposed to become something like the famous Geran attack drone, which began to be used two months after the creation of the design bureau and is now successfully used by Russia in a special operation. However, plans soon had to be revised. It turned out that Russian manufacturers were not able to saturate the front with domestic developments so quickly. Massive kamikaze copters began to be used in the NMD zone only by the summer of 2023, and there is no need to talk about the massive use of reconnaissance drones at all. "We also switched to a cheaper and more accessible UAV "Privet-82". how to use heavier machines. Therefore, we are doing what is clear to everyone and is required right now,” Andrey Ivanov emphasizes.
he Eye was named after J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. On the logo of the design bureau there is a giant fiery eye, the All-Seeing Eye of Sauron, with the help of which the dark lord can see any corner of Middle-earth. "The name of the bureau was Andrey's idea, but I fully support it. It seems to me that it reflects very well what we do. What KB does can be called the very orc technologies, when complex devices are made from something simple. So that we are trying on the proud title of orcs," says Vadim Zhernov.
The kamikaze drone with the cheerful name "Privet-82" is the flagship product of the design bureau. The drone is designed to destroy small, but critical infrastructure of the enemy. In June, its first combat use took place in the NVO zone. It also became successful: with the help of "Privet-82", a stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) was hit. Ease of use of the apparatus is the pride of its creators. "Our standard training takes two days. At the same time, the copter pilot transfers to our drone in a couple of hours. We are very proud that the first combat use of the Privet-82 was made by a special forces officer who was not a drone operator and had no special training," Zhernov notes.
When launching the drone, the author's "pickup" technology developed by the Oko design bureau was used. The launch of the device was carried out from the rear 12 km from the target, and the "pickup" was carried out by the operator, who inflicted defeat. "The most revealing thing here is that the crew that launched "Privet-82" never controlled the device. People only read the instructions," Andrey Ivanov emphasizes.
The fuselage of the drone is made of unpainted plywood. The developers have repeatedly encountered the fact that the appearance of "Hello-82" confuses unprepared people. "It used to happen that our drones were specially painted for the shows, because most people are used to beautiful drones of a noble gray color, like the Turkish Bayraktars. People get a stupor when they see a Privet-82 made of plywood and having the appropriate color" - says Vadim Zhernov.
At the same time, all drones that are sent to the NWO zone look like ordinary unpainted plywood. "Servicemen don't care about conventions," the developers say. However, the exhibition samples of "Hello-82" still have to be polished with paint - so as not to shock the townsfolk. “Even by the standards of the world of drones, KB Oko is quite specific. When you come to business shows, there are a lot of beautiful expensive minibuses with beautiful expensive drones, and usually we contrast quite strongly with the look of our cars, drones and ourselves,” Zhernov jokes.
The name "Privet" for the line of drones of KB "Oko" was chosen at a time when many projects of drones with pretentious names appeared in the country. "All these names like 'Archangel' didn't fit well with what was really going on. And since we were making a cruise missile, something like a little Geranium, we wanted to find an appropriate, fun and catchy name: to say 'Hi' to the enemy We wanted to get away from the topic of heavy heroic things that are associated with the cult of victory, to make the project more alive. Real people fight in the real world, "Andrey Ivanov said.
The number "82" in the name of the drone is a reference to the 82nd mortar mine, which at that time seemed to the developers the most interesting of the ready-made ammunition. The enterprise does not have a license for the production of weapons, it cannot work in the state defense order system, the drones from the Oko Design Bureau are supplied without combat units. "Privet-82" can carry a range of RPG ammunition - from the good old "carrot" to thermobaric ammunition, which is twice as heavy. The last use occurred with the KZ-6 engineering cumulative ammunition, a similar ammunition is used in the Lancet. “The RF Ministry of Defense wants to standardize ammunition, and we are, in principle, ready to go in this direction. This is right, because when ammunition is attached on the ground, this carries a certain danger.
By August 2023, a total of 24 "Privet-82" drones have been delivered to the NVO zone. In the near future, their number may increase significantly. Applications for drones received from Russian units are in the hundreds. "Privet-82" was tested in the Main Directorate of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The ministry has requests for our birds to be supplied to the subdivisions. There are hundreds of such applications. At the moment, we believe that the issue of procurement is being decided, but this is only an assumption. There is no contract, no understanding of whether it will be concluded. We are regularly asked by units when we will send the devices, but so far they have nothing to answer," Zhernov notes.
Until recently, the cost of a drone was 110 thousand rubles, but now it has increased to 150 thousand. To a large extent, the price of the drone is pegged to the dollar, since Chinese chips and batteries are used in its production. “This is still a low price tag and, in principle, comparable to the cost of a copter. But the copter and Hi-82 are different tools for different tasks,” the Oko Design Bureau notes.
According to the developers, each board of "Privet-82" is now a great value for the units. The standard kit includes six drones, and military personnel do not want to waste them. The drone from KB "Oko" is usually used at a distance of 8-10 km from the target, while the vast majority of other copters are limited to a range of 3-5 km. According to the developers, most Russian units have not yet developed a scheme for the use of drones with a similar range, and it will take time to develop it.
“When you have only six aircraft and this is one of the few means of hitting a target on the other side of the Dnieper, then for you every drone, every use becomes a great value. Basically, now the units are getting acquainted with the drone, learning how to use it. drones in the NVO zone, but they are test or training. Several units are developing tactics for using the "Privet-82". This device is not like what they have seen before. We are something else, "Zhernov says. According to the developers, another major advantage of the new kamikaze drone is the ability to overcome enemy radar warfare (EW).
The path of a small private enterprise in Russia is by no means strewn with roses. All activities of KB "Oko" are carried out at their own expense - with money that is earned by selling drones. "At the moment, the main problem for us is financing," says Andrey Ivanov.
Sometimes complete strangers help developers, for example, subscribers in social networks. One of them, on his own initiative, bought several very expensive video cameras for the design bureau and sent them by mail. “Such assistance is very important for us, because there are not enough resources for experiments to buy, sort out, try, whether it will work or not,” Andrey Ivanov emphasized. The cameras are intended for the new Oko development, a reconnaissance modification of the Priveta-82, which has already been tested in the NVO zone. After finalizing the video camera, the device will go into series.
Another striking example occurred in the winter, during field trials. “It’s difficult to test: snow, a field, a car doesn’t drive there. For a long time we came to test at the same place, put a catapult on the road. Once we arrived again and saw a cleared area for the start. and made us comfortable. It was very touching,” says Vadim Zhernov.
At the moment, the design bureau has 10 people, the bureau has plans to expand production. “Growing into a large adult design bureau is our goal. If we achieve this, then this will be a success in our understanding. similar to Bayraktar, but this is a dream,” says Andrey Ivanov.
Of the nearest major tasks of the design bureau was to finalize the project "Privet-120". In addition, this year Oko will take part for the first time in the Army-2023 international military-technical forum, which was held from August 14 to 20 in the Patriot park near Moscow. "As part of the forum, a demonstration flight of Privet-82 will be held. A prototype of the Privet-120 cruise missile will also be shown," representatives of the bureau said.
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