Isos Today at 11:29 pmYou are somewhat right but...
I don't think Forpost-R has a long term future as it is an export variant of IAI Searcher.
I think that in the near future the Russians will switch exclusively to products patented in Russia.
The most important characteristics of the CH-92 are known: wingspan 9 meters, length 4.1 m, height 1.6 m, maximum take-off weight 300 kg and payload up to 60 kg. The cruising speed is 120 to 160 and the maximum is 190 km/h, while the practical peak of the flight is 6000 m. The aircraft can stay in the air for up to 10 hours and be at a maximum distance of 250 km from the command station. The general TTK for the CH-92A has not been published so far, and on the manufacturer's website you can watch a video showing that there is a variant of the aircraft that can be launched from a moving vehicle, which does not have a fixed tricycle-type landing gear but has skis on which it can land . It was this characteristic that was key in the statement of the President of Serbia in September.
For the CH-92A, the manufacturer states that it is a reconnaissance and combat BPL that can carry an optoelectronic and infrared system as well as two precision-guided bombs (or rockets according to the author) to perform various tasks. It can be used for intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, surveillance, detection of enemy positions, correction of artillery fire, precise strikes on targets of great importance and the so-called. TST targets (time sensitive targets) as well as for evaluating the effect of combat action in real time.
The FT-8D is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, in the family of Chinese small-caliber weapons, or in this case rockets, which are used to arm unmanned aerial vehicles. According to available data, it has semi-active laser guidance and a range of up to 5 km. It is quite certain that the first Serbian combat UAV will also receive Chinese electronic equipment, however, it is not specified whether this also applies to ground guidance stations.
Although it is not yet known with certainty how many CH-92As will be procured, according to official information, the Serbian Armed Forces will receive three batteries with 6 or 9 aircraft, which, according to the official statement of the President of Serbia, was paid 30 million dollars (it is not specified whether technology transfer is also taken into account). Until now, for this BPL class, it has usually been practice for a battery to have two to three aircraft controlled by a single ground station. Also, the army will receive more batteries with an additional number of combat UAVs after the Pegasus redesign.
The choice of the CH-92A was most likely influenced by the fact that its tactical and technical characteristics are very close to those of the Pegasus, we officially know that the payload of the Chinese aircraft is 20 percent higher (recall that the payload of the Pegasus is 40 kg, which also applies to electronic equipment). All the similarities between the Chinese and Serbian UAV can make it easier for engineers to refine the Pegasus to the desired appearance and satisfaction of the given tactical-technical requirements.
General characteristics for Pegaz (Pegasus)