Specialists of the military innovation technopolis “Era” have begun research work on the creation of a small-sized multifunctional software radar station. This was in an interview with "Red Star" said the chief of the technopolis, Lieutenant General Vladimir Ivanovsky.

“A study is currently underway to create a multifunctional software radar deployed on military robotic complexes, carried out in the interests of the High Command of the Aerospace Forces,” Ivanovsky said.

As the head of Era explained, a promising radar station can be used for installation on domestic drones or “as a technical vision system” on ground-based robotic systems.

Complex but promising project

As experts interviewed by RT explained, the device that Era engineers are developing is called a small-sized multifunctional airborne radar station (MBRS). One of the pioneers in the development of this product is considered to be JSC Corporation Fazotron-NIIR (Moscow, part of JSC Concern Radioelectronic Technologies (KRET)).

“The work on the establishment of MBRS is conducted by several domestic enterprises. To date, Fazotron-NIIR together with the Moscow Aviation Institute (Moscow Aviation Institute. - RT ) has created an experimental airborne radar weighing 45-50 kg. This is a pretty serious result. However, a small-sized radar station should ideally weigh 5-7 kg, ”said Eduard Baghdasaryan, a member of the Association of Operators and Developers of Unmanned Aerial Systems, in an interview with RT.

According to the expert, there is still a lot of work ahead of the domestic engineers and specialists of Era. The main difficulty lies in the miniaturization of the electronic filling and the development of expensive high-quality software.

“Now no one in the world has a small-sized radar station, including the western states, which before our country began to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle and ground-based robotics. This is an extremely complex, high-tech and expensive, but, of course, extremely promising project. If Russia manages to get ahead, it will be a significant achievement of our science, ”Baghdasaryan emphasized.

The materials of KRET say that the MBRLS performs the functions of terrain mapping, selection of ground (surface) moving targets, assessment of weather conditions, and information support for flights at low and very low altitudes.

The equipment and software of such a radar station allow the formation of radar images of objects on the underlying surface (the part of the earth's surface that carries out heat and moisture exchange with the atmosphere and affects it. - RT ). This process takes place in real time and without operator intervention.

  • Small-sized radar developed by the specialists of "Fazotron-NIIR" and MAI
  • © SC MAI

The results of flight tests of a prototype small-sized radar on an An-2 light transport aircraft, which Fazotron-NIIR received, indicate that such products are capable of generating high-quality radar images.

At the same time, KRET drew attention to the difficulties in creating the key constituent elements of MBRLS. In particular, designers experience difficulties in manufacturing an on-board digital computer based on domestic multi-core microprocessors, small-sized broadband digital receivers, compact waveguide-slot antenna arrays, software-controlled solid-state power amplifiers, reliable software, etc.

“The creation of a new MBRS, suitable for installation on UAVs, and the refinement of existing rather heavy prototypes will require at least the next few years and tens of millions of dollars of investment. However, if such a product appears, it will be able to neutralize the negative impact of the weather factor, which now prevents monitoring of the underlying surface, ”Baghdasaryan noted.

As the analyst explained, at present, domestic and foreign light-class UAVs are mainly equipped with optical equipment that is not able to "see behind the clouds." However, MBRLS solves this problem. According to Baghdasaryan, radar stations are less accurate than optical devices, but taking into account the characteristics of the operation of drones, they are recognized as more effective.

“The overall dimensions of the current airborne radar stations do not allow them to be installed on small tactical UAVs. As a result, the potential of light drones remains unrealized. The range of prospective MBRS should be 5-8 km. This is quite enough to complete the tasks of monitoring the underlying surface, ”added Baghdasaryan.

The expert recalled that to date, Russian enterprises have developed several types of light-class drones: the Eleron family of close-range reconnaissance systems, the Orlan-10 multifunctional vehicle, and the Korsar and Katran strike UAVs.

“Under the banner of robotization”

In an interview with RT, military expert on armored vehicles Alexei Khlopotov drew attention to the importance of introducing MBMS into modern and promising domestic robotic devices. In his opinion, the small-sized radar station will allow the autonomous apparatuses of the RF Armed Forces to independently navigate the terrain, conduct reconnaissance, and even participate in hostilities.

“Now ground vehicles, which are commonly called robots, are actually remotely controlled machines. Managing them is easy enough to intercept, or simply suppress the radio signal. On the agenda is the integration of artificial intelligence elements that will allow the robot to operate on the ground independently of the operator. Part of this great science-intensive work is the creation of MBRLS, ”Khlopotov explained.

  • Robotic complex "Nerekhta"
  • © Vitaly V.Kuzmin

The expert recalled that in Russia there is already a line of relatively small tracked and wheeled robotic systems (Nerekhta, Uran-9, Mars transport platform). Small-sized radar station will allow them to perform a wide range of tasks at the theater of operations, regardless of weather conditions and terrain.

“On the ground autonomous devices, as well as on UAVs, opto-electronic equipment is usually installed, but it has significant drawbacks. For example, optics does not distinguish between the hidden positions of the enemy, "does not see" what is hidden in buildings or behind natural obstacles, is not able to "see" something through the fog. In addition, optics can be disabled by mechanical damage, ”says Khlopotov.

In this regard, as the expert said, Russian and foreign engineers came to the conclusion that both optical devices and radar should be placed on one robotic platform. Such a combination of technical equipment will increase the efficiency of crewless machines.

“The last 7-8 years for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have passed under the banner of active robotization. This process has become a mainstream for the national defense industry and the military. Of course, many problems have not yet been resolved, but the creation of a compact radar will significantly increase the intelligence and combat capabilities of Russian robotic systems, ”summarized Khlopotov.