UAVs in Russian Armed Forces: News

Isn´t Korsar the first???

Hole wrote:Isn´t Korsar the first???

I'm not sure if Korsar is in armament in Russian army. I know, they are in process of testings, but I don't know, if they are delivered to units.

Yeah, but Korsar was also tested in Syria. With weapons (according to some reports). That means there will be two UCAV´s in russian service soon.

Russia’s Orion attack drone arrives for troops after Syria experience — source

The drone in its attack configuration can carry up to four missiles, the source said



MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. The MALE-class (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) drone Orion has started arriving for experimental combat operation in Russia’s Aerospace Force after its tests with armaments in Syria, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Friday.

"The Orion drone in its attack configuration can carry up to four missiles, which it successfully test-fired in Syria. The drone has started arriving for Russian troops for its operational evaluation, after which the command will make a decision on launching it into serial production and accepting it for service," the source said.

Orion Chief Designer Nikolai Dolzhenkov told TASS in reply to its request to comment on the source’s information about the drone’s experimental combat operation that "it is still early to specify these aspects." ‘We have trials at their final stage and it would be better to talk about that when we finally complete them and we are going to do this in the immediate future," he added.

The chief designer declined to comment on the drone’s employment with its armament in Syria.

As Editor-in-Chief of the Arsenal of the Fatherland journal Viktor Murakhovsky explained to TASS, the drone Orion "was in Syria in its reconnaissance and attack configuration." "It was there; moreover, there were more than one of them there and for quite a long time but I can’t say whether it [the drone] delivered strikes," Murakhovsky specified.

The expert noted that the Orion had completed its state trials with a small number of critical remarks. "Operational documentation is being developed," he added.

"The Aerospace Force already has proposals on setting up units for employing long-range and long-endurance heavy attack drones. So far, it seems that these units will be mixed to comprise both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles," the expert said.
Orion attack drone

The Orion is a medium altitude, long endurance drone with a maximum takeoff weight of 1 tonne and a maximum payload of 200 kg. The drone has a service ceiling of 7.5 km and its maximum flight duration with the standard payload is 24 hours. The drone can develop a speed of up 200 km/h. The drone is being developed by Kronshtadt Group.

At the Army-2018 international arms show, Kronshtadt Group demonstrated a drone armament control system and a munition prototype of its own development with a weight of up to 50 kg that can be outfitted with various warheads.

Another TASS source in the defense industry said in February 2019 that back in 2018 the Orion drone had been tested for employing air bombs but did not specify the munition types. According to the source, the drone was used in Syria but without employing its armament.

At the MAKS-2019 air show, Kronshtadt Group Chief Designer Dolzhenkov told TASS that the Orion drone was at the final stage of its trials and that the Defense Ministry of Russia would get one such unmanned aerial vehicle before the end of the year.

https://tass.com/defense/1086508

Russian command and control system for offensive UAV swarm attack was shown on Army-2019

https://ria.ru/20191107/1560687884.html

“The huge flocks of Russian drones will simply not be stopped,” the newspaper writes. The material notes that drones built on the principle of a “flying wing” will be able to rise into the air and land in a vertical plane. Their combat load will reach 2.5 kilograms. wrote:

Which is very amusing... the Soviets and Russians always had more SAMs than the rest of the world combined, so the idea of swarm attack is the least of their problems... but how many Patriots does the US have... the US MIC might take this opportunity to cry wolf and say the US needs a national air defence network like Russia has and needs to order millions of SAMS to protect the US of A... and they need it now and any politican not in our pocket is clearly a stooge of the Ruskies and wants us to be vulnerable to enemy air attack...

They could call the programme Operation Hoover because it will suck US tax dollars up like a vacuum cleaner...


...It will make the F-35 look cheap and effective.

Social networks: Near Ryazan, a military drone fell near residential buildings

In the village of Listvyanka, Ryazan region, the Orion military drone fell. A photo from the scene was published in social networks by an eyewitness on November 16.

According to him, the apparatus collapsed right at the apartment building, cutting down a pine in half. The UAV fell at the intersection of two paths where people often walk. No harm done.

The man claims that a similar incident had previously occurred in the nearby village of Salkovo. Then "Orion" allegedly fell into the garden.

https://62info.ru/news/proisshestviya/46361-sotsseti-pod-ryazanyu-ryadom-s-zhilymi-domami-upal-voennyy-bespilotnik/

Pictures in the link

It crashed in the village of Listvyanka, Ryazan Region, one of the prototypes of the Orion long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (tail number "05")

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3841167.html

Russia, UAE mull testing latest Orion-E reconnaissance drone

The Orion is the first MALE-class drone fully developed in Russia and made of domestic components

DUBAI, November 18. /TASS/. Russia and the United Arab Emirates are considering holding the trials of the latest Orion-E reconnaissance drone developed by Russia’s Kronshtadt Group, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation told TASS at the Dubai Airshow 2019 on Monday.

"Middle Eastern countries show interest in Russian drones. Currently, we are in talks with the Emirati side on holding the trials of this system [Orion-E]," the defense agency said.

The Orion is Russia’s first air reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a long-duration flight capability, which corresponds to the MALE (medium-altitude long-endurance) international classification category. The system is designed to conduct air reconnaissance and patrols, determine the coordinates of ground and naval targets and carry out topographic mapping of the terrain.

The Orion drone, which is being developed by Kronshtadt Group, has a maximum takeoff weight of 1 tonne and a maximum payload weight of 200 kg. The Orion is the first MALE-class drone fully developed in Russia and made of domestic components. Its flight duration is 24 hours.

The Dubai Airshow 2019 runs in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates) on November 17-21. Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport acts as the organizer of the integrated Russian exposition on a total area of over 750 square meters.

Apart from the state hi-tech corporation Rostec and Rosoboronexport, eight leading Russian defense manufacturers will present their armament and military hardware at the Dubai air show, including the United Aircraft Corporation, the Russian Helicopters rotorcraft producer, the United Engine-Making Corporation, the High-Precision Weapons Research and Production Association, the Almaz-Antey Group, the Shvabe Holding Company and other entities.


https://tass.com/defense/1089889

http://mil.today/2019/Science10/

Russia Presented Military Version of UAV Positioning Laser System

At Heli Russia 2019, an exhibition of helicopter-related industries opened on May 16, Kronshtadt Group presented a laser positioning system (LPS) that locates unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The company’s booth displays a military version of LPS compatible with the advanced UAV Orion and standardized under GOST RV.

The system is designed to obtain information about actual location of an unmanned vehicle at the landing phase, reports Mil.Press Today from the Kronshtadt Group's booth.

In automatic mode, LPS scans an airspace sector of expected occurrence of UAV, then locks on and tracks the drone at glideslope phase and moving on the runway. It ensures safe takeoff and landing of the drone even with no satellite navigation data.

Locking on a UAV is possible at the range of up to 8 km and the height of up to 250 meters.

Kronshtadt Group presented the civil version of the UAV laser positioning system in 2017 at MAKS air show.

http://mil.today/2019/Science29/

MAKS-2019: UAV Berta Gets Turbojet

The ground-launched overhead platform E08M Berta designed and produced by ENICS will be powered by a turbojet engine. The drone equipped with a new powerplant will debut at the International Aviation & Space Salon (MAKS-2019). The two already known versions had an internal-combustion engine (ICE) and a pulsejet engine (PJE).

The overhead platform provides the military with an opportunity to mount various kinds of payload: TV/photo cams, infrared imagers, corner reflectors, Luneberg lenses, IR flare decoys, airdrop containers, etc.

As a result, Berta can act both as a target drone and a recon UAV. The industry experts explained Mil.Press Today how application affected the engine type selection.

"The applied engine type depends on specific missions assigned to the air platform", said Mikhail Koryukov, director of Itlan engineering center specialized in designing and production of UAV powerplants. "A prop-driven combustion engine is more fuel-efficient than a pulsejet one, it holds the drone airborne longer and ensures running landing. So, this version of UAV is better for recon missions".

Pulsejet engines are cheaper and easier to manufacture, though consume more fuel, have shorter flight duration and are louder, shared the expert. This kind of drone lands by parachute. In terms of its features, Berta powered with pulsejet engine is better suitable for target drone missions.

Nikita Gusev, CEO at Reynolds that designs turbojets, agreed with Koryukov. He assumed that a turbojet for Berta drone was preferable to simulate fast-speed high-altitude air targets.

Except for the unmanned aerial vehicle Berta, the system includes a ground control station, a launcher, a maintenance kit, and a search/evac vehicle.

We have an insight on the Forpost-R ELINT version of the Forpost UAV that's in the works.
Tank target detection out to 18km is not bad at all for the altitude it's operating at




http://mil.today/2019/Science23/

UAV Forpost-R Receives Laser Illumination Optoelectronic System

At the Army-2019 forum, NPP Airborne & Marine Electronics presented the gyro-stabilized optoelectronic system GOES-4 equipped with the Russian-made two-wave laser rangefinder/illuminator. The payload is to be supplied to Ural Works of Civil Aviation for the unmanned aerial vehicle Forpost-R.

The optoelectronic system includes the thermal imaging unit with cooled 3-5 micron matrix, television unit and the laser rangefinder/illuminator HTEB.461321.011 produced by Quantum Optics.

The system features the four-axis gyrostabilization with accuracy of 10 angular seconds. The demand for such parameters is dictated by the need for the stable target illumination for military aircraft and guided weapons.

The optoelectronic system is capable to detect the tank-class target at the distance of up to 18 km, and certainly identify it at 8 km.

Weight of the system is 32 kg. The two-wave laser rangefinder/illuminator weighs 2.4 kg.

Currently, GOES-4 is passing preliminary trials. In July, the system’s developers expect the working documents will be assigned classification letter "O".

UAV Forpost is a localized version of Israeli drone Searcher Mk II designed by IAI. The "R"-lettered modification is to carry electronic intelligence and data broadcasting facilities.

http://mil.today/2019/Industry5/

UAV Orlan Gives Way to New Drone

At the MAKS-2019 airshow, visitors of the UAVs pavilion learned about a new drone named Feniks. It is designed by the St. Petersburg-based company Technologies of Automation & Programming (TAIP). Andrey Soleyev, the company’s director of UAV division told Mil.Press the drone was an evolution of UAV Orlan.

Visually, Feniks resembles Orlan, though having a number of design features that increase the vehicle’s reliability over its competitor. As for Andrey Soleyev, all communication channels and basic control systems of Feniks, e.g. ailerons and flaps, are backed up.

"If you look at the center section carefully, you’ll see the new additional moving elements that help to control the drone if the wing-flap system fails", explained the company’s official.

As compared to Orlan, the UAV made by TAIP has heavier payload; Feniks can carry 8 kg in contrast to Orlan’s 5 kg.

The new drone uses two in-house designed types of engine: gasoline and kerosene ones. According to Andrey Soleyev, the latter is preferable for hot-climate and naval applications.

http://mil.today/2019/Science21/

UAV Albatros-P to Automatize Facilities Protection

The constant-alert quadcopter was presented at the Army-2019 military forum. The drone can automatically takeoff upon the alarm signal and independently return to the basing site. The project drawn interest not only by the military but National Guard, Rosatom and other agencies, the drone’s designers from Stilsoft Group told Mil.Press Today.

The Albatros-P multicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicle is placed in a special launch container that maintains microclimate inside and has a battery charger. The antenna for drone’s activity coordination and the weather station are located within the container as well.

The drone is automatically connected to the detector placed on the border of a protected area. It registers unauthorized activities and sends the alarm signal to the system. Then the flight mission is automatically uploaded to Albatros-P, the container opens, the launch pad protracts, and the drone takes off to monitor the situation.

When the landing is completed, the launch pad goes back, and the quadcopter is connected to the charger. Human participation in all operations is reduced to a minimum, or can be excluded at all. Start and return with landing are possible either in the fully automatic mode or upon operator’s confirmation.

The UAV’s operational radius is about 5-7 km, max flight time is 40 minutes, full-charge time is 2 hours. Albatros-P is capable to perform missions at the wind speed of up to 10 mps. The quadcopter has the self-protection system: at low battery, the drone automatically returns to the base for charging.

"One of the most challenging tasks we’ve coped with is related to the automatic landing. It is ensured by several systems located both on the drone and on the launch pad", said Vitaly Shnychkin heading Stilsoft’s Moscow office. "As such, the system currently can operate only with a particular type of UAV. However, with a slight adjustment, Albatros may be replaced with another drone".

The product can be used either alone or as a part of different systems. Albatros demonstrates the most effective operation along with the video/thermal imaging module with integrated video analytics SDP-3675 debuted at Army-2019. Both systems are the components of Synerget KSBO object security system.

Currently, the system with UAV Albatros-P is undergoing state trials to be completed by the yearend, and afterwards the device will be commissioned. Curiously, not only the military but the representatives of National Guard, Rosatom and other security and business agencies are taking lively interest in the project.

More about the Berta target drone (imitation of multiple targets such as cruise missiles, glide bombs and UAVs), and a minor modernization of the Eleron-7 UAV (increased zoom to x30, better stabilization, ability to work in hotter climates than before)

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