"Save the lives of military personnel": editor-in-chief of "Unmanned Aviation" - on the use of UAVs in a special operation in Ukraine

- How do you assess the effectiveness of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Russian military in the framework of the special military operation (SVO) of the Russian Federation in Ukraine?

- In my opinion, the Russian army uses UAVs in the course of hostilities quite effectively.

These machines perform a number of important tasks: they carry out reconnaissance, surveillance, are used to point weapons and ensure objective control of the results of their use.

During the JMD, there are certain losses of unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian side, but I would not call them significant.

And taking into account the fact that such equipment allows you to save the lives of Russian military personnel, the existing UAV losses are not a problem, but only some costs.

- In your opinion, what is the specificity of the use of drones in the framework of the NWO?

- The uniqueness of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in these hostilities lies in the scale and intensity of the use of UAV systems, as well as in the level of technical equipment of the warring parties, in the wide range of UAV countermeasures involved.

Such a situation has not been observed in any armed conflict of recent decades.

- According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, UAV crews conduct round-the-clock search and reconnaissance of targets, followed by the issuance of target designations for artillery units.

What types of drones does the Russian side use?

What is their difference?

- In the short range, Russian troops use light unmanned aerial vehicles "Eleron-3SV" equipped with low-noise electric motors.

Long ranges in small and medium ranges are covered by the Orlan-10 UAV, equipped with an internal combustion engine.

To solve the most priority and significant tasks, Forpost heavy tactical UAVs with high-quality on-board optical-electronic surveillance systems are used.

Operating from long distances, they make it possible to detect and identify targets at enemy positions and ensure control of their destruction by rocket and artillery systems.

At the same time, the high duration of the flight gives them the opportunity to be involved in several combat missions at once during one sortie.

It is also known about the episodic use of medium-altitude UAVs with a long flight duration "Orion", referred to by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation as "Pacers".

These UAVs are capable of carrying not only reconnaissance and surveillance systems, but also weapons, which makes their use vital.

At the same time, it is worth noting that, judging by the footage with the Orions in the Ukrainian theater of operations, very rarely shown by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the production created by the Kronstadt company, unfortunately, has not yet been able to ensure the volume of deliveries that could be fully realized needs of the Russian military.

- According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, during the battle, drone crews carry out artillery fire adjustments, conduct video recording of fire damage to enemy targets and equipment, and reconnoiter the actions of retreating units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What kind of drones does the Russian army need most now, and is the Russian Federation able to quickly increase their number?

- I believe that the only UAV system available to the troops in sufficient quantities is Orlan-10.

The saturation of the units with the appropriate equipment was the result of fairly large-scale purchases, which, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, could amount to at least 2 thousand units.

It would be worth re-ordering more expensive, but at the same time much more effective Outposts.

Finally, it is necessary to somehow solve the problem of equipping the troops with reconnaissance and strike UAVs as soon as possible.

If, for some reason, Russian companies cannot do this promptly, it is possible and even necessary to seriously consider alternative ways of obtaining such systems, up to import.

Conclusions and subsequent decisions regarding the incorrect or untimely assessment by the customer of certain areas of unmanned vehicles, as well as the reasons for the unsatisfactory low pace of creating UAV systems and deploying their production for certain categories of vehicles, should be done with a cold head.

• UAV units of the Black Sea Fleet conducted a joint exercise with artillery units of the army corps of the Southern Military District stationed in Crimea

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

- The most commonly used types of UAVs during the special operation are quadrocopters and multicopters, but Russia almost did not produce this equipment.

What steps is the Russian Federation taking to establish a conveyor production of such drones?

Or can we still massively buy such UAVs in China?

- Indeed, the SVO clearly showed the high demand for light multi-rotor drones.

They allow you to quickly receive data from the lower-level intelligence without seeking appropriate support from a higher level.

Unlike aircraft-type devices, multicopters make it possible to quickly look “over the hill” or “behind the house”, if we talk about actions in urban environments, providing the necessary situational awareness.

At the same time, commercially available civilian UAVs, despite the limited compliance with military requirements, nevertheless solve basic tasks, and most importantly, they have a very good ratio of efficiency and cost.

The purchase of multicopters in China is one of the possible ways to solve the problem.

At least temporarily.

- The Kyiv regime uses Western drones and Turkish-made Bayraktar UAVs.

What are their features and differences from domestic counterparts?

- The advantage of Baykar, which created the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned systems, over Russian development companies is the ability to use top-end components from leading world manufacturers.

The same Bayraktar is a product that combines subsystems of various supplier companies from around the world.

This approach allows not only to select the subsystems that best meet the requirements, but in general, significantly reduce the time of the entire development.

However, this approach also determines the risks caused by the political situation, which the experience of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh clearly showed to the same Turks.

At that time, a number of companies supplying the subsystems used on the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, under the influence of the pro-Armenian lobby, were forced to decide to suspend their supplies to the Turkish company Baykar, since Azerbaijan actively used the Bayraktar TB2 during the military confrontation with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian developers, in an effort to minimize such risks, are forced to develop many subsystems on their own or involve local co-executors for the development, which, among other things, lengthens the time for creating new equipment.

— What are the main differences between Russian UAVs and foreign analogues, in particular the American Phoenix Ghost and MQ-1C Gray Eagle, which appeared in the media in connection with Ukraine?

- Let's break down the mentioned UAVs into categories.

The first of them - Phoenix Ghost - is a loitering ammunition.

Such devices can fly, performing reconnaissance and surveillance, and after detecting and successfully identifying a target, at the command of the operator, destroy it using a warhead integrated into the design of the drone.

This approach, which involves the use of virtually disposable UAVs, makes it possible to reduce the duration of the “detection-to-kill” cycle, which ultimately has a positive effect on the effectiveness of combat operations in general.

In addition to the aforementioned Phoenix Ghost, the UAVs also use the American Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 UAVs.

Initially, it was assumed that Ukraine would be supplied with MQ-1C Gray Eagle medium-altitude reconnaissance and strike UAVs of long flight duration, which were created by the American company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and are used by the US Ground Forces.

This drone significantly exceeds the capabilities of the Bayraktar TB2 drones used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

However, according to Western media, the planned delivery of these drones to Kyiv has been postponed for the time being.

It is possible that, firstly, because of their alleged low effectiveness in the face of opposition from the enemy, who has modern air defense systems, and secondly, because of the fear of these systems getting into the Russian side.

By the way, in Russia, in this category, the Sirius UAV is being created, which the Ministry of Defense calls Inohodets-RU.

• Snipers of the combined arms army of the Eastern Military District stationed in the Primorsky Territory have begun to master shooting at unmanned aerial vehicles of a mock enemy from shelters

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

At the same time, Russia is already using the KUB and Lancet loitering ammunition, created by ZALA Aero, which is part of the Kalashnikov concern, during the NMD in Ukraine.

They have a generally similar principle of operation, but are structurally different: due to the lack of a folding wing mechanism, these UAVs are less compact and, accordingly, less portable.

- The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said during a briefing that in the airspace in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bSnake Island, the Russian Armed Forces had spotted a US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone.

How do you rate the characteristics of this UAV?

— This is a high-altitude long-range drone belonging to the class of strategic vehicles.

UAVs of the Global Hawk family are available in the US Air Force and in a very narrow circle of countries allies of Washington.

If we talk about Europe, then here, in addition to the United States, such systems are also used by NATO as part of the alliance's ground target surveillance system.

Among the factors that determine the low prevalence of these systems is that the Global Hawk is fabulously expensive both to purchase and to operate.

Russia does not have such a class of systems, but it is developing UAVs that perform similar tasks.

For example, the Russian Altius UAV being created partly combines the functionality of two American drones: the medium-altitude reconnaissance and strike Reaper and the high-altitude reconnaissance Global Hawk.

- Earlier in Washington, they announced an alleged agreement reached between Russia and Iran on the purchase of a batch of attack UAVs for use in Ukraine.

However, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry called this information absurd and "stuffing", designed to "heat up anti-Iranian sentiments in the Arab states."

If we turn to Iran's experience in creating UAVs, 

- Iran is a country that has managed to develop its own industry of UAV systems under sanctions.

At the same time, firstly, numerous models of aircraft-type unmanned vehicles of various classes have been created in this state - ranging from mini-UAVs to medium-altitude long-duration drones.

And secondly, the country has mastered the serial production of the developed drone systems.

These two circumstances concerning Iran's experience in the creation of such machines deserve careful study.

- In your opinion, does Russia need to increase the number of UAV operators in the armed forces?

- The number of operators of UAV systems, of course, should be relevant to the growing fleet and type of such machines.

Especially given the fact that the number of drones used by the Russian army needs to be significantly increased in accordance with the existing and predicted level of challenges and threats.

And this should be done both in the light categories of UAVs and in the category of reconnaissance and strike drones.

In addition, attention should be paid to the issues of training operators of UAV systems in terms of the use of various tactics that could be formulated based on the experience of using within the framework of the JWO.

- In your opinion, what are the prospects for the further use of UAVs in armed confrontations?

- Drones have clearly proven their useful qualities during military conflicts.

Russia needs to solve the situation with niches in which there is a shortage, including multi-rotor mini-UAVs, loitering ammunition, reconnaissance and strike drones.

In the future, it is also necessary to attend to the use of technologies that allow the use of UAVs in the face of enemy opposition.

Here we can talk, among other things, about navigation systems based on principles not related to the use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) signals, communication systems that are resistant to the effects of enemy electronic warfare (EW) equipment, as well as increasing the autonomy of actions through the use of based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.