Special operation in Ukraine showed which UAVs the Russian army needs

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Nearly three months of fierce fighting in Ukraine already allow us to draw several intermediate conclusions about possible ways for the further development of the Russian army after the completion of the NMD. Practice "on the blood" has shown that some previously popular ideas turned out to be extremely harmful.

The first conclusion that we can already draw now is that wars are not won by precision weapons alone. No matter how much you launch "Caliber", "Daggers", "Zircons" and other "wunderwafers" on targets, then you will have to fight on the ground. The second conclusion follows from the first: relying on a small professional army, the idea of ​​which has been so actively imposed on us since the beginning of the 90s, is erroneous. Yes, the core of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation should consist of regular military and contract soldiers, but the army of a country like Russia should be popular, and its population should undergo initial military training from an early age. And the third conclusion is that drones are far from being "wunderwaffles", as manufacturers praise them, but without them there is nowhere in modern warfare.



I would like to talk specifically about the use of UAVs. We will definitely devote a separate article to drones that are used against us by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine, but now let's see what the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation approached the beginning of the special operation with.

UAV in Russian


According to the channel "Star", the Russian military began to use the Orlan-10 unmanned complex as a strike:

During the special operation, for the first time, the military personnel used the latest modification of the drone, which can now deliver high-precision strikes on the ground and hit manpower and machinery. UAV operators find the target and drop high-explosive fragmentation ammunition from a height of two kilometers.

One can only rejoice at the ingenuity of domestic developers, but the sad thing about all this is that such impromptu technical solutions have to plug huge gaps in this type of weapon. It is with great regret that we have to state that the Russian army in the component of unmanned technologies approached the NMD poorly prepared. Yes, in the past few years, there have been reports of the development and testing of UAVs of various classes: Orion, Orlan, Lancet, Altius-U, Okhotnik and others. However, the problem lies in the fact that almost all of these are so far single samples that have not been put into mass production. And we need them so much right now!

Thus, the Altius-U (formerly Altair) reconnaissance and strike UAVs would provide invaluable assistance to the RF Armed Forces. According to the developers, this drone, equipped with a side-looking AFAR radar and an optical surveillance reconnaissance station with an optoelectronic system, is capable of staying in the air for up to 48 hours at an altitude of up to 12 kilometers. From there, he could control the rapid movement of mobile armored groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from city to city, using the tactics of "toad jumps". It is very problematic to prevent this by the RF Armed Forces, since the existing satellite system does not allow continuous monitoring of the entire territory of Ukraine, and we have so few AWACS aircraft that they can be counted on the fingers of the hand.

Why does the Russian Defense Ministry still not have dozens of Altius-Us? Because initially they were developed for the German diesel engines RED A03 / V12, the supply of which to Russia was blocked by the Americans, and the Design Bureau. Klimov had to create his own VK-800V engine to replace it. The contract for the supply of the first batch of reconnaissance and strike UAVs of this type to the military was concluded only last year, in 2021. When they actually enter the troops is unknown.

The S-70 heavy attack drone could contribute to the destruction of the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Created using stealth technologies, the UAV is capable of carrying a combat load of up to 8 tons and dropping bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms. However, so far the "Hunter" exists in only a few copies and is still being tested. He will begin to enter the troops no earlier than 2024.

The situation is better with the Orion medium-altitude UAV from the Kronstadt company. Initially, it was created for optoelectronic, radar or electronic reconnaissance and long patrols, however, clearly looking at the Turkish Bayraktars, the developer provided for the possibility of installing four X-50 air-to-ground missiles on it, which can be replaced by 6 corrected free-falling bombs KAB-20 or 3 KAB-50, or guided glider bomb UPAB-50, or free-fall bomb FAB-50. The Orions have already passed the real test of combat in Syria, destroying small groups of terrorists, while remaining out of range of their MANPADS. In 2021, it was reported that the Kronstadt company completed the construction of a plant for the production of Orion and Sirius UAVs and two more helicopter-type attack drones:

Construction and installation works have been completed in the production building of Russia's first specialized serial plant for large-size unmanned aerial vehicles. Construction took place from April to December 2021 - this is the first aircraft plant built in post-Soviet Russia.

Sirius is a further development of Orion, it has 2 engines, a flight range of over 10 kilometers and a takeoff weight of 000 tons. The development is being carried out by the Kronstadt company on its own initiative, the UAV is just beginning to be tested, flight tests will continue until the end of the year.

The foregoing allows us to conclude that in the coming years, the main "workhorse" of Russian unmanned aircraft will be precisely the medium-altitude UAVs "Orion", analogues of "Bayraktarov". The attempt to adapt light reconnaissance UAVs "Orlan-10", with which we began this story, for strikes against Ukrainian light equipment, causes only sadness.

Our "constructors"


In fact, "Orlan-10" is a banal constructor made from imported civilian components. Several of these drones fell into the hands of the Americans, who released information about their internals. This includes, for example, an internal combustion engine from the Japanese company SAITO, a flight controller based on the STM32F103 QFP100 chip from the Franco-Italian manufacturer STMicroelectronics, MPXA4115A and MPXV5004DP chips from the American company Freescale Semiconductor, the RF3110 transmitter from the German company Municom, the HMC6352 compass sensor from the American company Honeywell, the GLONASS / GPS / QZSS LEA-6N by Swiss company u-blox, starter-generator PTN78020 by American company Texas Instruments Incorporated, microcontroller ATxmega256A3 by American company Microchip, receiver DP1205-C915 by German company AnyLink, GPS tracker with Chinese-made chips, etc.

Also, a lot of imported components are contained in the filling of the Zastava, Granat, Eleron and Outpost UAVs. Undoubtedly, in the very near future, the lack of foreign components will become a big problem for the production of a wide range of Russian drones. Their import substitution had to be carried out, as they say, yesterday.

It has come to the point that ordinary Chinese-made civilian drones such as DJI Mini 2 and Mavic 3 are now widely and quite effectively used in the Donbass. Simple and inexpensive, but equipped with a camera with a thermal imager and a powerful zoom, such quadrocopters allow you to conduct reconnaissance at a tactical level, saving lives personnel, and adjust the fire. On April 26, a Chinese company suspended the supply of its drones to Russia and Ukraine:

DJI conducts an internal review of compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the ongoing review, DJI will temporarily suspend all of its activities in Russia and Ukraine. We are interacting with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension of business operations and the termination of deliveries of orders.

Like this. In general, it is bad to depend on someone. We need to draw the right conclusions and quickly solve the problems of import substitution.
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26 comments
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  1. -3
    16 May 2022 12: 25
    as always, we fight by quantity and not by skill. Such is our bitter fate.
    1. -1
      16 May 2022 14: 30
      You seem to have always had trouble with math. Compare the size of our grouping with the Ukrainian one.
  2. +2
    16 May 2022 12: 46
    the news about the (official) stoppage of the supply of drones from partners from China only emphasizes our relationship, China, like the United States, is interested in our weakening and they are the ones who are happy about it, the United States to a complete weakening, China to the middle
    in general, the war emphasized all the "strength" of the vertical and those who determine the development (in quotation marks) of the country and only ordinary people, people (the army) are always ready to defeat the enemy with their lives
    but in spite of everything, the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours
  3. +1
    16 May 2022 13: 05
    No matter how cool the UAV itself is, without the support of high-speed Internet and a space constellation of satellites, which should support the entire algorithm of military interaction between UAVs and strike weapons, receiving accurate target coordinates for this, the result will be little comforting. And for this we need GLONASS, space, technology, microelectronics, machine tool building, etc., etc.
    Where is it all?
    offshore.
    Therefore, in this fight, we already have a whole face in the blood ...
  4. +1
    16 May 2022 14: 11
    Quote from: zlyden.pisyuhastiy
    as always, we fight by quantity and not by skill. Such is our bitter fate.

    Quote: Eduard Aplombov
    in general, the war emphasized all the "strength" of the vertical and those who determine the development (in quotation marks) of the country and only ordinary people,

    Quote: Spasatel
    Where is it all?
    offshore.
    Therefore, in this fight, we already have a whole face in the blood

    ) because of the monitor everything is in full view
    1. +3
      16 May 2022 15: 19
      and you look from the moon, at prices, at the number of those killed, at the dances of 5 columns, many of which are in power?
      1. 0
        17 May 2022 10: 57
        Quote: Eduard Aplombov
        and you look from the moon, at prices, at the number of those killed, at the dances of 5 columns, many of which are in power?

        ? if you criticize others, be prepared to criticize yourself as well.
  5. -5
    16 May 2022 14: 30
    Special operation in Ukraine showed which UAVs the Russian army needs

    - Personally, I already wrote in another topic that ... that ... that Russia just needs to purchase from Turkey - either for money, or at the expense of the Russian gas supplied, or at the expense of some part of the payment for the nuclear power plant (which Russia is building in Turkey) - to purchase a large batch of Turkish Bayraktar UAVs! - What's the problem??
    - After all, Russia has supplied Turkey with S-400 systems - so why can't Turkey supply Bayraktars to Russia ???
    1. +1
      16 May 2022 15: 10
      Well, why do we need these Bayraktars? Parse and copy? They consist entirely of Western components, which in the current conditions of sanctions will be very difficult to obtain.
      1. -2
        16 May 2022 16: 11
        Well, why do we need these Bayraktars? Parse and copy?

        - Yes, use, apply them, apply!!!
        - Are you reading me inattentively??? - Personally I write that
        you need to purchase a large batch of "Bayraktars"! - Well, this is about 1000 units; maybe more (strike and reconnaissance UAVs). - And, if necessary, then "acquire" Turkish instructors at the same time! - I do not see anything impossible in this! - And what else to do if we do not have large batches of UAVs in production ??? - And we just need them!
        - We already needed them - the day before yesterday !!!
        - And then further - maybe we will arrange the production of our own UAVs - in the required quantity!
        1. +1
          16 May 2022 16: 19
          Are you not embarrassed by the fact that Turkey is a member of NATO and that in those UAVs that we can hypothetically buy from them there will be "bookmarks" that at the decisive moment will turn these "Bayraktars" into a bunch of useless junk?
          1. -4
            16 May 2022 18: 06
            there will be bookmarks

            - Ha, yes, if only!
            - Turkey has long been not so simple and led as old Europe!
            - And Turkey has long given a damn - both to Europe, and to NATO by and large!
            - To say briefly - it is simply not profitable for Turkey to do ("stuff" their Bayraktars):
            one . This will cause a very, very "bad impression" and distrust of Turkish weapons and Turkish products! - And this for Turkey - will create a nightmarish fiasco for the future - literally in all areas where Turkey has achieved some success and "is going to go further"! ;
            2. This will greatly complicate Russia's relations with Turkey - and Erdogan has long considered Russia to be his "cash cow", which is very useful for Turkey - in everything! - And Erdogan has long achieved very significant success in "this direction"! - And suddenly Erdogan loses it all!
            3 . - And also ... - yes, okay - and the above is quite enough to prevent Turkey from doing such a stupid thing; those. - "stuff" your Bayraktars in order to put them in Russia later!
            - For Turkey - such a "game - it's not worth the candle"!

            Sheepskin - not worth the candle
          2. +3
            16 May 2022 21: 11
            At one time, NATO England sold the USSR the latest jet engines, on copies of which the MiG-15 flew. You can buy not only equipment, but also a full-cycle assembly line. You can’t buy officially, you can buy not officially. Businessmen need profit and not all of them are ready to incur losses due to the Russophobic hysteria of the sixes in the United States. Of course, it’s better to have your own production, this is indisputable, but drones are needed now, and not someday ... We should have thought about the development of domestic production earlier, but now we need to remove all Chubais from power and patch up holes ...
  6. 0
    16 May 2022 14: 58
    When the second Karabakh war began and Azerbaijan launched an offensive. I also wrote here that as they started, so they will finish. Because any offensive must begin with an artillery strike. And UAVs have changed the war so much. Well, where were our MO analysts? Of course, any war shows something. For me, and not only for me, the war in Ukraine showed that we have no generals. There are managers, and for them everything always goes according to plan. Thousands of dead and hundreds of our prisoners, the death of "Moscow" and the shelling of our territory. And everything is going according to plan. But no one is going to count before us, and they are not obliged to let us in on the plans.

    We need to draw the right conclusions and quickly solve the problems of import substitution.

    And for this, education must be received, not bought. There are only managers around. Wherever you throw it, everywhere is a wedge.
  7. -4
    16 May 2022 15: 00
    This Russian slovenliness is inescapable.
    1. +2
      16 May 2022 15: 27
      slovenliness

      And what is the difference between sloppiness and sabotage or betrayal?
  8. 1_2
    -1
    16 May 2022 17: 30
    I was pleased with the eagle with 2-4 mines)) I think it will even be more effective than the more expensive heavy UAVs, due to its small size, and the difficulty of detection (a bird on the radar) and nothing that the charges are weak, they can easily damage the air defense radar, destroy upa golden and in the trenches. the radius of 120 km (managed by the operator) is decent. and up to 500 km if sent on autopilot to a specific object (warehouse). what prevented them from suppressing their calculations of artillery shelling cities is not clear
  9. +3
    16 May 2022 21: 40
    The outpost is just an Israeli Searcher with some additions.
    Each author (what he writes about ships, what about airplanes, ...) constantly complains that you need a lot of this or that weapon. You can draw it, but it will not float and fly if there is no real industry, but the same microcircuits, software are required , engines and much more. And no one is going to talk about the fact that we have some problems in production, not only weapons that prevent us from creating not 2-3 (but dozens, hundreds) of serial Su-57s and more. Without our own industry, if something will not happen soon or in piece copies ...
    Chekmate or Su-75 when in reality it will be difficult to say ... but they have already advertised ...

    “This is not just an aircraft, it is a high-tech intelligent aviation platform. It has an open architecture and is adaptive, it can be assembled in several configurations configured in accordance with the wishes of the customer,” Chemezov told RIA Novosti.

    But they are preparing it for export. But if it is so good, then why not release it for yourself ...
  10. +2
    16 May 2022 21: 48
    Unfortunately, there are gaps and failures everywhere.
  11. +2
    16 May 2022 22: 24
    While the Chubais are calmly robbing us, and for this, because of someone's friendship or something else, everything goes off with a bang with a VIP - departure to the promised homeland, we can wait until the global flood. World Khazar Khaganate.
  12. SIT
    +6
    17 May 2022 00: 39
    The fact that our guys are forced to use Chinese toy DJI mini 2 UAVs (weight 249g) is an inescapable shame of the Moscow Region with its generals and real estate management. Damn, like everyone else, they were engaged in deriban everything they could reach, instead of doing business. On the face of a clear lack of brains and at least some kind of long-term planning in the high command, and therefore there are no systemic developments in the military-scientific direction. Well, this state-type management system is not capable of anything other than cutting the budget and outright theft. And even more so, she is not capable of fighting. First, you need to disperse the managers in the government and around it, who count money for oil coming from Novorossiysk to Romania, where they make fuel for Ukrainian tanks from it, and then plan military operations. Now, in order to get out with dignity from the ass where we got with this vertical, only one thing is needed - everything for the front, everything for victory !! This means all the monitarist-liberal nonsense of the Kudrins, the Silyanovs, and the Nabiullins to be recognized as enemy actions aimed at undermining the country's defense capability.
  13. 0
    19 May 2022 21: 44
    We have not paid any attention to the creation of simple strike UAVs for 30 years. Neither Grachev, nor Ivanov, nor the notorious Serdyukov, nor Shoigu. For them, it's just toys, pampering. Okay, the first one is still a paratrooper, and the rest, what relation did they have to the army. Not professionals, incompetent and narrow-minded people, what do they understand in military affairs. But fundamental decisions in the army should be made or not taken by the Minister of Defense. Hence the shameful lag in this area. And so we have everywhere, not only in the army. Putin appoints who knows whom, his friends, classmates, friends of his friends, etc. to key positions of responsibility. None of them is responsible for the results of their activities. Because of such a pernicious personnel policy, the country is degrading and lagging behind the developed countries more and more.
  14. 0
    20 May 2022 03: 10
    it's just some kind of shame .. some kind of single copies with almost zero efficiency .. where did the allocated funds go? ..
  15. 0
    21 May 2022 11: 30
    The military was again preparing for the last war.
  16. 0
    20 June 2022 21: 34
    .... Relying on a small professional army, the idea of ​​which has been so actively imposed on us since the beginning of the 90s, is erroneous. Yes, the core of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation should consist of regular military and contract soldiers, but the army of a country like Russia should be popular, and its population should undergo initial military training from an early age.

    exactly . with the existing environment it cannot be otherwise.
  17. 0
    22 June 2022 22: 55
    The constant misunderstanding of problems is infuriating due to the lack of a competent team of analysts in power. The people take more and more strategic mistakes for granted ...