Russia UAV programs, News & Update

[Soldier30]

The heavy transport unmanned aerial aircraft of the ultra-short take-off and landing “Partizan” has completed the first stage of flight testing. The UAV is based on the TVS-2MS aircraft. The flight of the heavy UAV lasted 20 minutes at an altitude of 200 meters at speeds from 50 to 200 kilometers per hour. During testing, a pilot was in the cockpit to monitor the parameters. An aircraft with a drone function was developed at the Siberian Aviation Research Institute named after Chaplygin. The Partizan UAV is designed to transport cargo and can be used for civil and military purposes. The Russian Partizan UAV is equipped with a hybrid propulsion system and can take off and land on a site measuring 50 by 50 meters, with obstacles at the border of the site up to 15 meters high. The flight range of the Partizan UAV is up to 1 thousand kilometers, at an altitude of up to 8000 meters with a maximum speed of over 300 km/h, payload weight of up to one ton. As reported, the Partizan unmanned aircraft will be 100% made in Russia. In 2024, it is planned to deploy a production complex and produce 10 serial copies of the Partizan heavy UAV.

 

[Soldier30]

Russian specialists from the Sukhoi Design Bureau have successfully tested a prototype of a huge heavy vertical take-off and landing UAV. The BTS-VAB UAV is equipped with a hybrid power plant; the drone includes an electric lifting power plant and a piston propulsion engine. Vertical takeoff and landing are carried out by lifting electric motors located on the wing beams. Take-off, route flight and landing are performed fully automatically, without operator participation. During tests on the flight stand, control algorithms and operation of takeoff, hovering and landing systems were tested. The Sukhoi Design Bureau UAV does not require specially prepared sites for takeoff and landing and will allow solving a wide range of transport and logistics tasks. The drone can also accommodate weapons or reconnaissance equipment; the payload capacity of 300 kilograms allows this to be done. At the moment it is known that the UAV’s flight range will be up to 500 kilometers.

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of workshops producing Russian kamikaze drones “Geran-2” has been published. Although it was previously reported unofficially where the production is located, we cannot disclose this. The Geranium-2 drone is a modernized and localized version of the Iranian Shahed-136 drone; there is a review of the drone on the channel. As can be seen from the video, truly mass production of drones has been established. Some drones are painted black for use at night, and some drones are known to be coated with a special radio-absorbing material. British experts examined one of the drones, and it follows from them that the drone has already become Russian. The body is now made of fiberglass and carbon fiber, the manufacturer has optimized and simplified the design. The drone's satellite navigation unit is based on the Russian Comet receiver; the antennas are integrated into the body. The Gerany-2 drones use boards with elements created on a 3D printer and an inertial measurement unit, which allows them to operate in conditions of poor satellite signal. The Russian drone “Geran-2” uses an engine produced by the Chinese company Beijing MicroPilot UAV Flight Control Systems MD550, it is similar to the Iranian engine MADO MD 550, the engine costs about 13 thousand dollars

 

[Soldier30]

The Chinese company Tsingaero Armaments is going to launch the production of helicopter-type drones in Russia on the territory of Tatarstan. According to the head of the company’s board, the company “chose” Russia to implement this project and “perhaps it will be the only partner country.” The company's drones are used in the military sphere for reconnaissance, transportation, communications relay and battlefield surveillance. In addition, drone helicopters are used in the civilian field, for example, to extinguish fires. Tsingaero Armaments has developed drones and synchrocopters, their rotors are located at an angle to each other, their planes of rotation intersect. When using this scheme, the drone has higher stability and its load capacity is 30% higher. Accurate characteristics of drones on the screen. Depending on the model, drones have a carrying capacity of 60 to 250 kg, can stay in the air for 3 to 5 hours and have a flight range of 200 to 500 km, reaching speeds of up to 270 km/h.

 

[Soldier30]

The Russian army has begun to use the Bee queen drone, but there is no technical information about it yet. The drone is made according to the VTOL scheme, that is, a hybrid of an airplane and a quadcopter, it is equipped with an internal combustion engine and can transport and launch FPV drones. Judging by its size, the Bee UAV can carry one FPV drone placed on top. The use of the Bee UAV as a carrier of FPV drones allows you to significantly increase the range of use of FPV drones, since the UAV relays signals from FPV drones and increases their range. Judging by the development of drones, unmanned aircraft will soon become a separate branch of the military.

 

[Soldier30]

Russia has created a prototype of an interceptor drone. The Tarantula Birdcatcher drone was developed by Altai intelligence officers and is equipped with trap nets to intercept UAVs. In the video you can see how this drone works. The trap is not fired forward, but downwards, which makes it possible to confidently intercept only hovering drones; it will be more difficult to intercept moving UAVs. The new drone is being tested, there is no technical information, and funding is needed for serial production.

 

[Read Surah al Waqiah]

"Interesting development! Accelerating the delivery of the S-70 Okhotnik 'Hunter' UAV to 2024 showcases Russia's commitment to advancing its unmanned aerial capabilities. With its stealthy design and impressive specifications, including a substantial payload capacity and long flight range, this UAV certainly holds significant potential for various military applications. It's fascinating to see Russia joining the ranks of countries developing advanced UAV technology. Looking forward to seeing how this development progresses."

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of work in Ukraine, a Russian drone with a target designation system. The operator, in real time, selects targets on video from the drone and transmits data with coordinates to artillery units. Judging by the video, the software package loads Google maps and is used to link to the area. The video shows artillery, presumably a mortar, being aimed at a Ukrainian BMP-2.
After being hit by one of the mines, the BMP-2 leaves the battlefield. The drone model and what kind of software it is are not reported.

 

[Soldier30]

Tests of the Russian Ovod-S FPV drone with a target homing system were published by the developers; we have previously shown this drone. The drone is equipped with an on-board homing system "Square". The homing system is implemented through two types of tracking: algorithmic, which uses technical vision, and neural network, for recognizing objects by the drone. Having captured a target, the drone continues to track it and engage it, regardless of whether it is a static or dynamic target. The cost of early versions of the Gadfly drone, without a homing system, is about 40 thousand rubles or 480 dollars.

 

[Soldier30]

Russian military personnel inspected the landed Ukrainian UAV RQ-20 Puma of American production. The RQ-20 Puma UAV was developed by AeroVironment based on the FQM-151 Pointer UAV in 2007. The RQ-20 UAV is hand-launched and is designed for patrol, reconnaissance and fire support adjustments. The drone's bi-axis, gyro-stabilized multi-sensor system combines conventional and thermal imaging cameras. Each of them has 6x magnification. The system allows you to detect the enemy day and night. The drone has a waterproof body and can be equipped with solar panels; with them, the drone can fly for up to 9 hours, without them for up to 3.5 hours. The design of the drone is interesting; when it hits the ground, it falls apart in strictly defined places, making it easy to assemble and repair in the field. With a wingspan of 2.8 meters and a length of 1.4 meters, the maximum take-off weight of the UAV does not exceed 5.9 kg. The RQ-20 UAV reaches speeds of up to 83 km/h with a range of up to 15 kilometers, at an altitude of up to 15 meters. The expected cost of the RQ-20 Puma UAV is 250 thousand dollars or 23 million rubles. The UAV will be sent for examination by specialists.