Specialists from the Hermes design bureau (part of NPO Kaysant) have developed a new control module that can significantly increase the range of use of Russian FPV drones. Alena Balandina, development director of the NPO Kaysant, reported this in a commentary to RT.

“The Hermes Design Bureau, a new division of NPO Kaysant, has developed a new control module. Its main advantage is the increased flight range of FPV drones without the use of relay equipment. We conducted appropriate tests and obtained a range of up to 20 km. This is a guaranteed flight distance without any additional settings. At the same time, today, without repeaters, copter-type FPV drones fly 5-10 km,” said Balandina.

According to the specialist, the control module is a microcircuit and a dipole antenna - these devices provide communication between the UAV and the operator’s console. Installation of the product takes about five minutes and can be done directly on the line of combat contact (LCC).

“To install the module, you only need a soldering iron. A serviceman who is part of the crew of an FPV drone unsolders the factory communication channel and solders the Hermes product. A transmitter is mounted on the operator's console. All manipulations are easily carried out in the field, in places where crews of small-sized UAVs are deployed,” explained Balandina.

In addition, as the development director of NPO Kaysant reported, FPV drones can already be used at a distance of more than 100 km. To ensure such a flight range, Hermes specialists manufactured a set of noise-resistant relay devices.

“When developing new repeaters, Hermes designers took into account the specifics of the air defense system. The military is seeking to use FPV drones on a larger scale and at significantly longer distances. If it is necessary to overcome a barrier of 20 km, we propose using repeaters that are resistant to enemy electronic warfare and sources of electromagnetic radiation such as power lines - as a rule, they heavily pollute the radio air,” explained Balandina.

At the same time, according to the specialist, Hermes repeaters are capable of providing communication even in bad weather conditions, with changeable terrain and in the presence of various other obstacles, including in urban areas.

"Important achievement"

FPV drone developers and military experts interviewed by RT praised the creation of new means of communication and relaying for drones. According to them, the use of Hermes products can expand the combat and reconnaissance capabilities of UAVs.

“Our colleagues from the Hermes Design Bureau were able to solve a truly very complex engineering problem. Now the developers of our FPV drones and other UAVs of the third league can use the domestic communication and control system. This is, of course, a very important achievement,” said Dmitry Kuzyakin, general director of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CDBR), scientific director of the MIPT laboratory, in a commentary to RT.

According to the developer, Hermes design bureau modules are easily and clearly installed on ready-made FPV products and are easy to operate. In this regard, Kuzyakin expects that they will be installed on already released and future UAVs to perform tasks on the line of combat contact.

“At the moment, we can say that the Hermes control module will allow FPV drones to more effectively disrupt enemy rotations and strike at their reserves located in the near rear,” noted the head of the Central Design Bureau.

As reserve lieutenant colonel Oleg Shalandin suggested in a conversation with RT, the Hermes design bureau managed to significantly increase the radio signal transmission power. In practice, this will be expressed in increasing the flight range of FPV drones and improving their noise immunity.

“Currently, the flight range of FPV drones is limited by two main factors: insufficient battery capacity and insufficient radio signal power. To use UAVs at distances of more than 5 km, it is often necessary to use repeaters, which are also vulnerable to the enemy. The control module does not solve all problems, but it simplifies the use of FPV drones, objectively increasing their flight range and noise immunity,” explained Shalandin.

According to the expert, the flight distance of 20 km declared by the developer will allow UAV crews to open and hit areas where enemy troops and equipment are concentrated. As Shalandin says, it is in the 20 km zone that artillery positions, the nearest reserve units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, communication centers and control points are most often deployed.

“As a rule, our artillery and army aviation work against all these targets, and now, apparently, Russian FPV drones will also be able to confidently work. Yes, they carry a small amount of explosives, but at the same time they can be used massively and deliver very accurate, unexpected and very unpleasant blows for the enemy,” Shalandin said.

Work on the rear of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

As Dmitry Kuzyakin stated, the accumulation of competencies in matters of communication and control of small-sized UAVs will enhance their security in the theater of military operations. According to RT’s interlocutor, not only FPV drone controls, but also video transmission channels will be able to operate more stably.

“It is worth saying that increasing the control distance is really important, but is not the only task. An equally important task is a stable and high-quality video transmission signal. After all, if the picture disappears in the VR glasses of an FPV drone pilot, then this becomes a problem. Without a video signal, the pilot turns into a blind man, and the drone turns into a useless piece of hardware with electronics. Many factors can disrupt the video transmission channel: the impact of electromagnetic radiation, difficult terrain, and not very good ground equipment. However, I am sure that Hermes specialists are aware of such problems and are also working to solve them. The main thing is that our colleagues have acquired the necessary competencies. And this cannot but please us,” said Kuzyakin.

  • FPV drone of the Russian Armed Forces

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

According to the General Director of the Central Design Bureau, the emergence of noise-resistant control systems and video transmission will make it possible to create a new class of FPV drones that will be able to conduct reconnaissance and strike at long distances.

“One of the key tasks of the current stage of development of Russian FPV systems is the development of distances of several tens of kilometers. Perhaps these will be aircraft-type FPV UAVs. Their appearance will make it possible to strike warehouses with equipment and weapons, supply lines and communication centers of the enemy in the tactical rear zone,” Kuzyakin emphasized.

A similar point of view was expressed in a conversation with RT by the head of the International Training Center for Unmanned Aviation, Maxim Kondratyev. According to the expert, new control and relay systems open up wider possibilities for the use of FPV drones.

“The most important thing is that increasing the range of FPV drones through the use of new control and relay systems will make it possible to work on targets not only on LBS, where strong points and a small amount of military equipment are located. The UAV crew will be able to strike a wide range of artillery installations, including self-propelled ones, warehouses, repair points, and locations of enemy personnel,” Kondratyev noted.

According to the expert, the competent use of FPV drones at distances of tens of kilometers can significantly weaken the enemy’s fire potential and worsen the supply of forward units.

“In my opinion, with the increase in the flight range of FPV drones, a new stage in the development of this type of UAV will actually begin. Of course, it is necessary to resolve a large number of issues related not only to control, but also to navigation, as well as to countering electronic warfare systems, which are also constantly being improved. Nevertheless, it is obvious that Russia is approaching a fundamentally new level of technology and tactics for the combat use of FPV drones,” concluded Kondratyev.