A new combat drone AQ 400 Scythe was tested in Ukraine: how will Russia respond?

December 18 2023 9

Ukraine has flight tested the new AQ 400 Scythe combat drone, which has an expected range of about 750 km. The drone can carry up to 32 kg of explosives and reach a maximum speed of 230 km/h.

Sources report that Kyiv is capable of assembling about a hundred such UAVs per month with the prospect of expanding production to 500 units. It also cannot be ruled out that assembly facilities will operate in a number of states bordering Ukraine.

The impressive flight distance of the aircraft is provided by a straight two-section wing with high load-bearing qualities and a large volume of the fuel system. The Russian radar and guidance radars RLM SOTs and 1RS2-1E “Helmet” of the “Pantsir-S1” complex and the radar systems of the military air defense systems “Tor-M2U” are capable of bearing and capturing a drone. However, due to the high reflectivity of the body, the range of these systems will be limited to 8-10 km.

Along with this, the AQ 400 is equipped with open architecture gasoline engines without engine nacelles with heat-absorbing shielding of the crankcases. This makes it possible to use optical-electronic guidance systems in the infrared range against drones. In particular, the Pantsir-S1 complex is equipped with such a module. The systems will be able to detect a drone at a distance of 15 km.

In addition, protection from enemy UAVs can be provided by the Strela-10NM/M3 self-propelled air defense systems with 9M333 anti-aircraft missiles, attack helicopters and Mi-28UB/NM UAV interceptors, as well as the R-330Zh Zhitel and Pole-21 electronic warfare systems. .

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populist

0

18 December 2023 15: 40

We made it. Ukrainians are starting mass production of drones.
1. The comment was deleted.
Vladimir Tuzakov

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18 December 2023 19: 35

This “scythe” does not look very much like the 32 kg warhead, the engine seems to be weaker than 50 HP and the dimensions of the airframe are not suitable for such a load and fuel, somewhere around 10-20 kg. Warhead, no more. A primitive prefabricated shelf made from sheets of plastic or plywood with a semi-handicraft design. Compared to Geran-2, which is many times more and more powerful, and the warhead is first 36 kg, then somewhat more. But wait and see.
1. Alexey Lan
  
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  22 January 2024 22: 44
  
  Did they release An-2? They will master this one too.
Disinfo

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19 December 2023 05: 39

That's kind of an embarrassment.
AlexSam

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19 December 2023 11: 44

What to do with Skomorokhov’s authoritative arguments about the futility, short-sightedness and stupidity of using air defense systems against drones?
1. Alex Pan
  
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  28 December 2023 14: 10
  
  and he.is?wrong?
Dmitry Volkov

+1

5 January 2024 18: 40

No one remembers history, we defeated the Second World War only thanks to the mass production of the T-34, Il-2, PPSh and the heroism of our people. What we have now is little equipment, almost no new equipment, everything is expensive, there is no mass appeal, and only the heroism and self-sacrifice of the guys have small successes.
And for UAVs, you need to make a cheap project, even from foam plastic with your own RMZ-350 internal combustion engine or from the Umpo lynx, make electronics, even with transistors, but your own, and bomb all Banderaites en masse!
Regarding tanks, Ka-52, etc., how sick are you that it is difficult to create cheap mounted armor from composites? We don't have oil and fiberglass? It costs nothing, only people work!
Watching

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7 January 2024 00: 20

And again, through clenched teeth: well done crests. While Russian sources are talking about the almost end of the crested military-industrial complex, it is releasing more and more new and more rational and efficient drones, which are already flying throughout the European part of the Russian Federation. Can any of the experts here weigh in on this issue?
1. Alexey Lan
  
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  22 January 2024 22: 47
  
  They assemble drones, often handicraft, from foreign spare parts purchased with US and EEC money. So nothing strange.
Yuri L

0

25 January 2024 18: 09

Here only microwave weapons (such as Ratchet-E) will really help. Well, maybe a hundred AN-2s scattered across the border areas with a human-controlled 23mm cannon or a machine gun in the door and the ability to fly and shoot at night. But without AWACS aircraft constantly in the air (and we only have 5 of them) or without relatively cheap balloons (airships) with radar from fighters, all this is useless. And we didn’t have these systems and still don’t, so hello AQ400