“Demand is big enough”: what the latest Russian drones detection system is capable of

The Russian company JSC SPC Elvis (Zelenograd) will supply South Korea with a batch of the latest Raccoon detection systems Raccoon. This was reported to reporters in the Industry Development Fund (FRP, is managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade), which funded the creation of this system.

The deal with Seoul will be implemented before the end of the first quarter of 2020. The company's management is also negotiating on exports to European countries - the UK, Germany and Bulgaria. It is expected that supply decisions will be made before the end of this year.

According to the president of the Korean-Russian Business Council, Jeonho Park, Raccoon is "a budget solution that has optimal price-quality characteristics for systems of this class." From his words it follows that Russian complexes will ensure the security of large airports, oil bases and power plants.

Raccoon is collected for export for civilian purposes. By the end of the year, Elvis plans to release 27 complexes, in 2020 - about 100 units. With an increase in the volume of orders, the Moscow Region enterprise is ready to launch additional work shifts.

“The Elvis project is a vivid example of high-tech domestic production, whose products will be in demand both in the Russian and foreign markets. In 2018, the FRP provided the Elvis Research and Development Center a loan under the Development Projects program in the amount of 75 million rubles to launch mass production of UAV detection systems. The total investment amounted to 158 million rubles, ”said FRP Director Roman Petrutsa.

Research and Production Center "Elvis" ("Electronic Computing Information Systems") is one of the leading Russian developers of processors, analog-digital and radio frequency intelligent systems, including radar signal processing systems.

“Demand is big enough”

The development of "Raccoon" took about a year and a half. In an interview with reporters, Andrei Pimenov, Deputy General Director of Elvis Scientific and Production Center JSC, noted that “this is a fairly short time for such a product.” The most important elements of the latest radar are produced at the facilities of the enterprise, the remaining components are purchased in Russia and abroad.

As Pimenov explained, the brainchild of Elvis is oriented both to the international and Russian markets. It is used in the civilian sphere. For this reason, the company is not faced with the task of producing radar exclusively from domestic elements.

Raccoon is designed to protect airports and enterprises of the fuel and energy complex. The system is also suitable for ensuring the safety of so-called open facilities, for example, strategically important factories and power plants located on a flat, well-visible area, the creators of the complex note.

• Raccoon "Raccoon" at the training ground of the Research Institute "Atoll"
• © Alexey Zakvasin

“Demand is quite large, but it is mainly related to export. Unfortunately, the Russian market is quite conservative, although our first customer was from Russia. I think that the UAV industry is more developed abroad and therefore the issue of their detection is more acute. However, I am sure that in our country the attitude to security will certainly change, ”Pimenov told reporters.

Elvis’s top manager recalled that quite strict rules for using UAVs are in force in the Russian Federation. At the same time, he noted with regret that existing protective measures are often not effective enough when drones are used deliberately and knowingly for illegal purposes.

“Small and light class drones have become widespread in Russia and abroad. Their number is increasing every year, and there are practically no effective, small-sized and inexpensive means of detection. Now they are needed not only by the security forces, but also by the services responsible for the safety of enterprises and infrastructure facilities, ”says Pimenov.

"Raccoon" consists of a 14-pound three-coordinate radar station (radar), a power cabinet, a set of software and a computer for its operation. At the request of the customer, the complex can be equipped with video cameras, thermal imagers, electronic warfare (EW), capable of "intercepting" the UAV.

The raccoon's uniqueness lies in the use of multi-beam receiving systems. They provide detection of an unlimited number of drones with an effective scattering surface (EPR) of 0.01 sq. m at a range of up to 1.8 km. Ground and surface targets are recorded at a distance of up to 8.3 km.

The advantages of Raccoon include compactness, mobility (the complex can be installed on any vehicle), low power consumption, lack of restrictions on the number of tracking targets and the ability to scan airspace above water, which is considered a difficult technical task. The system is weatherproof and is capable of choosing the most suitable operation algorithm for each environment.

• Image of the surrounding area and target (drone) on the monitor of the Raccoon radar
• © JSC SPC "Elvis"

“The radar automatically detects the drone and gives an alarm. The operator sees on the monitor a virtual map of the area, sees where the drone is located. A drone is indicated by an icon. Above it displays its range, altitude and speed. Then the operator makes a decision on counteraction, ”said Pimenov.

As explained by the chief designer of Raccoon Oleg Zinchenko, operator training does not take much time and does not require deep technical knowledge. The interface and controls of the complex are intuitive for a person with the skills of an ordinary PC user.

Zinchenko admits that his brainchild is inferior in range and effectiveness to the models that are in service with the Russian army. According to him, the advantage of Raccoon is its affordability for a wide range of consumers in the civilian sector.

“Good prospects open”

Experts interviewed by RT believe that the complex developed by the Elvis Scientific and Production Center is designed to solve an extremely urgent problem. Unmanned aerial vehicles (especially vehicles without metal structures) are very difficult to detect. The most effective monitoring tool is radar surveillance systems in combination with optical and acoustic means.

“Incidents involving UAVs by Middle Eastern militants have shown a huge need for the development of detection and destruction of such devices. Inexpensive craft drones have turned into weapons that threaten both military and civilian targets. They can conduct reconnaissance and strike, ”said military expert Yuri Knutov in an interview with RT.

The founder of the Military Russia portal Dmitry Kornev believes that the product presented by Elvis can be used directly to intercept drones. In an RT commentary, the expert noted that systems like Raccoon should be relatively easy to integrate with a variety of EW tools that jam radio signals and suppress satellite navigation systems.

“Russia is a world leader in radar facilities. It is not surprising that domestic enterprises go for export. It is difficult to overestimate the need for systems capable of effectively detecting small-sized UAVs. Before the drone attack on the oil facilities of Saudi Arabia, it was believed that this was a purely military task, but in fact the problem of protection against drones is much wider, and our country has good prospects in the world market, ”summarized Kornev.