Russia received the first attack drone. Modern weapons of Russia
Recent armed conflicts have clearly demonstrated the potential of heavy unmanned aerial vehicles. Due to the relatively large take-off weight, such equipment can carry not only reconnaissance equipment, but also a certain range of weapons. Thus, a heavy UAV is capable of not only detecting targets, but also attacking them, which reduces the time spent on completing a combat mission and also allows you not to miss the target. However, in our country the heavy sector of unmanned aerial vehicles has been recent years doesn't use it special attention designers. Also in Soviet time Several designs with a take-off weight of more than one ton were created (Tu-141, Tu-143, Tu-243, etc.), but all of them were intended to perform reconnaissance and other similar tasks. The creation of UAVs with strike capabilities in our country began relatively late, only in the late nineties. Because of this, our army still does not have ready-made systems of this class. Over the years, several have certainly been created interesting projects, however, none of them have yet reached serial production.
"Scat"
In 2007, at the MAKS air show, the MiG Corporation presented its new project. Interesting feature This project was due to the fact that before the presentation there was almost no information about it, but, nevertheless, at the salon in Zhukovsky a full-scale mock-up of the future drone was immediately shown. Because of this “surprise”, the Skat project immediately attracted attention and became the subject of a lot of discussion. In general, such a reaction was not surprising: “Skat” became one of the first known domestic projects of an attack UAV, and its relatively large take-off weight noticeably distinguished it from the general mass of new domestic developments. In addition, “Scat” became the first representative of its class to reach the stage of assembling a life-size model.
The appearance of the Skat drone resembled the fish of the same name: it was proposed to build the aircraft according to the flying wing design. In addition, well-known techniques for reducing radar signature were clearly visible in the design. Thus, the wingtips are parallel to its leading edge and the contours of the rear part of the device are made in exactly the same way. Above the middle part of the wing, the Skat had a fuselage of a characteristic shape, smoothly connected to the load-bearing surfaces. Vertical tail was not provided. As can be seen from the photographs of the Skat model, control was to be carried out using four elevons located on the consoles and on the center section. At the same time, certain questions were immediately raised by the yaw controllability: due to the lack of a rudder and a single-engine design, the UAV needed to somehow solve this problem. There is a version about a single deflection of the internal elevons for yaw control.
The model presented at the MAKS-2007 exhibition had the following dimensions: a wingspan of 11.5 meters, a length of 10.25 and a parking height of 2.7 m. Regarding the mass of the Skat, all that is known is that its maximum take-off weight should have been approximately equal to ten tons. With such parameters, the Skat had good calculated flight data. At a maximum speed of up to 800 km/h, it could rise to a height of up to 12 thousand meters and cover up to 4000 kilometers in flight. Such flight performance was planned to be achieved using a two-circuit turbojet engine RD-5000B with a thrust of 5040 kgf. This turbojet engine was created on the basis of the RD-93 engine, but was initially equipped with a special flat nozzle that reduces visibility aircraft V infrared range. The engine air intake was located in the forward part of the fuselage and was an unregulated intake device.
Inside the characteristically shaped fuselage, the Skat had two cargo compartments measuring 4.4 x 0.75 x 0.65 meters. With such dimensions, it was possible to suspend guided missiles in the cargo compartments various types, as well as adjustable bombs. A number of sources mentioned that the on-board equipment of the Skat was planned to be adapted only for attacking ground targets, which would reduce the possible range of guided weapons, reducing it to air-to-surface types. The total mass of the Stingray's combat load should have been approximately two tons. During the presentation at the MAKS-2007 salon, next to the Skat there were Kh-31 missiles and KAB-500 adjustable bombs.
The composition of the on-board equipment implied by the project was not disclosed. Based on information about other projects of this class, we can draw conclusions about the presence of a complex of navigation and sighting equipment, as well as some capabilities for autonomous actions. However, official data regarding the Skat electronic equipment for five years has not been received.
After the first demonstration, the Skat project was mentioned several times in official sources, but it was subsequently closed. Currently, as mentioned in some sources, the developments of the MiG Corporation on the Skat project are used by the Sukhoi company in the development of a promising attack drone.
"Breakthrough"
The “Breakthrough” program of the Yakovlev company still remains one of the most mysterious in the modern Russian aircraft industry. All information about it is limited to a few paragraphs of text and a table with approximate characteristics. Even the approximate dates for the start of work in this direction are not entirely clear.
Presumably in the late nineties in the OKB named after. Yakovlev began to consider the possibility of creating a multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle with extensive use of developments from the Yak-130 project. There is information about a positive conclusion regarding the possibility of using a significant part of the on-board radio-electronic equipment of the original training aircraft. It was assumed that this approach could facilitate the development and production of a new UAV, as well as ensure a high degree of unification of drones of the same family. The latter opportunity was especially important, since the Breakthrough program implied the creation of several unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes - attack, reconnaissance and radar detection UAVs.
In the mid-2000s, the first details appeared regarding the appearance of the Proryv family of drones. Thus, the strike version was to be somewhat similar to the MiG Skat: a flying wing with one engine and internal cargo compartments for weapons. At the same time, one of the available drawings of the Proryva-U (this is how the attack drone is designated) shows a delta wing, and two air intakes are also noticeable on the upper surface of the wing. In other images, the Proryv-U, also called the Yak-133BR, has body contours and air intake placement similar to the Skat. With a take-off weight of about ten tons, the strike version of the Proryv UAV was supposed to have an estimated service ceiling of about 15-16 kilometers and a maximum speed of 1050-1100 km/h. According to various estimates, the payload of such a drone should have been two to three tons. Obviously, the range of weapons would be the same as that of the Skat: guided missiles and bombs for attacking ground targets, suitable in terms of weight and size parameters.
The image of a three-dimensional model of the Proryv-U, similar to the Skat UAV, also shows two other aircraft - the reconnaissance Proryv-R and the Proryv-RLD, designed for radar detection. Their gliders are almost indistinguishable from each other. At the same time, reconnaissance “Breakthroughs” differ significantly from the strike version. Versions “P” and “RLD” in the images, instead of a swept wing of medium aspect ratio, have a wing of low sweep, high aspect ratio and slight tapering. Thus, while losing to an attack drone at maximum speed, reconnaissance vehicles can have more high performance takeoff and landing, as well as long flights high altitudes. In addition to the characteristic wing, Proryv-R and Proryv-RLD are equipped with a tail unit of an original design. Two relatively thin beams extend from the fuselage of the drones, on which two surfaces are fixed. Obviously, the rudders placed on them can be used to control pitch and yaw. Finally, the power plant of both reconnaissance UAVs of the Proryv program is located in the engine nacelle at the rear of the fuselage. The most significant difference appearance"Proryva-R" and "Proryva-RLD" is a large radome of the airborne radar antenna on the latter.
According to available data, Proryv reconnaissance drones were supposed to have a take-off weight of about ten tons, but Proryv-R was slightly lighter. At the same time, the mass of the target equipment was reduced to 1000-1200 kilograms. Compared to the strike version, the flight characteristics have changed. Eg, maximum speed scouts dropped to 750 kilometers per hour. At the same time, Proryv-R, according to calculations, could rise to a height of about 20 kilometers and stay in the air for at least 18-20 hours. "Proryv-RLD", in turn, due to slightly deteriorated aerodynamics - it was affected by the large radar antenna radome above the fuselage - was supposed to have a ceiling of about 14 kilometers and fly for 16 hours.
Unfortunately, this is where all open information on the Breakthrough program ends. In the several years that have passed since the publication of the first data, OKB im. Yakovlev did not publish new details. It is possible that the Proryv heavy UAV project was closed due to the higher priority of other unmanned programs.
"Dozor-600"
The Skat and Proryv projects belong to the category of drones whose take-off weight significantly exceeds one ton. All projects of domestic designers in this direction so far end at the design stage. At the same time, another attack drone project, which nevertheless reached the prototype testing stage, had much less weight.
The Dozor-600 UAV (developed by Transas designers), also known as Dozor-3, is much lighter than the Skat or Proryv. Its maximum take-off weight does not exceed 710-720 kilograms. Moreover, due to the classic aerodynamic layout with a full fuselage and a straight wing, it has approximately the same dimensions as the Stingray: a wingspan of twelve meters and a total length of seven. In the bow of the Dozor-600 there is space for target equipment, and in the middle there is a stabilized platform for observation equipment. A propeller group is located in the tail section of the drone. It is based on a Rotax 914 piston engine, similar to those installed on the Israeli IAI Heron UAV and the American MQ-1B Predator.
115 Horse power engines allow the Dozor-600 drone to accelerate to a speed of about 210-215 km/h or make long flights at a cruising speed of 120-150 km/h. When using additional fuel tanks, this UAV is capable of staying in the air for up to 24 hours. Thus, the practical flight range is approaching 3,700 kilometers.
Based on the characteristics of the Dozor-600 UAV, we can draw conclusions about its purpose. Its relatively low take-off weight does not allow it to transport any serious weapons, which limits the range of tasks it can perform exclusively to reconnaissance. However, a number of sources mention the possibility of installing various weapons on the Dozor-600, total weight which does not exceed 120-150 kilograms. Because of this, the range of weapons permissible for use is limited only to certain types of guided missiles, in particular anti-tank missiles. It is noteworthy that when using anti-tank guided missiles, Dozor-600 becomes largely similar to the American MQ-1B Predator, both in technical specifications, and in terms of the composition of weapons.
However, it is too early to talk about the combat prospects of the Dozor-600 drone. The fact is that the latest successes of this project date back to 2010. In July 2009, flight tests of a large-scale prototype began. A little later, a prototype of the drone was demonstrated at the MAKS-2009 salon. Soon after that participation in the exhibition, new reports about the progress of the Dozor-600 project began to appear less and less often. In 2010, a full-size prototype of the drone took off. But already in October of the same year, the development company announced the termination of work on the project. This decision was due to the lack financial support from potential customers. The Transas company was not able to independently pay for the development of Dozor-600 and therefore closed the project. At the same time, as stated, most of work on the project, including the creation of avionics, had already been completed by that time. Perhaps in the future, developments on Dozor-600 will be used in new projects.
"Hunter"
As we can see, the development of heavy unmanned aerial vehicles for attack purposes in our country is not going through the most better times. All projects that seemed promising were either completely closed, or their condition raises serious questions. For this reason big hopes contacted with the new project of the Sukhoi company. Some sources claim that these design work received the code name "Hunter". On this moment There is very little information available on this project. Perhaps the lack of information is due to the project being in the early stages.
The history of the project of the Sukhoi design bureau began in 2009, when the management of the United Aircraft Corporation announced plans to involve the MiG and Sukhoi companies in the development of a joint heavy drone project. The corresponding agreements between aircraft manufacturing organizations were signed in 2011 and 2012. In April last year, the Ministry of Defense approved the technical requirements for a promising attack UAV, and in the summer information appeared about the selection of the Sukhoi company as the main contractor for the project. At the same time, approximate information appeared about the timing of work on the “Hunter” program. It was stated that the first flight of the device would take place in 2016, and it would enter service in 2020 or later.
Since research work on the topic "Hunter" began only a few months ago, technical details, as well as the list of military demands have not yet become public. There are reports of a requirement for a modular UAV architecture that will allow it to shortest time change the set of on-board equipment depending on the current task. In addition, ambiguous, if not fantastic, versions appeared in some unofficial sources. For example, there have been suggestions about the development of an attack drone with the ability to perform tasks typical of fighters, and supposedly the “Okhotnik” will correspond to the sixth generation of this class of equipment. For obvious reasons, it is too early to talk about the veracity of such statements, because they have not even been formed yet general criteria sixth generation fighter.
In general, heavy attack drones in our country cannot be called a particularly successful class of equipment. The total number of such projects is insignificant, and none of them has yet reached mass production and adoption. Thus, any such project will arouse increased interest and, obviously, high hopes will be placed on it. Foreign armies have been successfully using UAVs capable of carrying weapons for quite a long time, but our country does not yet have such equipment. As a result, any project of this type can be “appointed” as the savior of the Russian unmanned industry.
However, to date, active work is being carried out on only one project, which will be implemented in metal and composites only in three years, and will go into service even later. Due to the lack of other active work in this direction, the “Hunter” theme turns out to be the only candidate for the title of the first domestic heavy attack UAV. I would like this project to end successfully and for our army to finally have new technology, the effectiveness of which has been proven by foreign analogues.
Based on materials from sites:
http://paralay.com/
http://missiles.ru/
http://bp-la.ru/
http://airwar.ru/
http://uav-dozor.ru/
http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/topic-681.html
http://lenta.ru/
http://gazeta.ru/
http://aviaport.ru/
The Irkut Corporation has begun testing a drone as part of the Proryv R&D project (also known as the Yak-133 project), which is capable of reconnaissance and destroy enemy targets while remaining invisible to its radars, they report.
“In the future, the newest drone will be equipped not only with air-to-ground guided missiles and bombs, but also with optical-electronic systems, electronic reconnaissance systems and even a radar,”
According to him, “the aerodynamic design of the newest drone (a combination of the geometric and structural design of the aircraft) is very complex, containing many unique technical solutions, which have not previously been used in any of the production aircraft.”
“At the design stage, there were discussions between representatives of the Zhukovsky Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), Irkut and the Yakovlev Design Bureau, during which opinions were expressed that a device of this form would not be able to fly at all. Doubts were dispelled only after the first test flight took place in August. Everything went well, the designers were congratulated,” the source said.
He noted that the composition of the UAV’s weapons has not been fully determined, but it is already known that “it will destroy stationary targets with bombs with laser and optical homing heads, as well as those adjusted by a GLONASS signal.”
“The unique aerodynamic design of the drone makes it possible to make the UAV invisible to enemy radars even at the moment when it is using or conducting reconnaissance, as well as being quite maneuverable and fast. In order for the newest drone with the chosen aerodynamic design to fly, a lot of work had to be done. difficult work on the integration of UAVs, to which, in particular, specialists from Roscosmos were involved,”– said the source.
He explained that the term “integration” means “bringing together the work of all systems and subsystems installed on board into a single complex.”
“All aircraft systems must act together as a single organism. If the pilot, for example, begins to perform a maneuver, then all onboard systems - navigation, engine control, etc. – taking into account the design of the aircraft and its characteristics, they optimize their work so as to perform the given maneuver without disruption. Modern aircraft have several thousand different systems and subsystems that monitor and manage hundreds of flight parameters, and the pilot cannot independently monitor the operation of each one. Therefore, modern aircraft are equipped with information and control systems (ICS), which make the aircraft work as a whole,” said a representative of the aviation industry.
Head of the AeroNet direction of the National Technology Initiative Sergei Zhukov: “Unmanned technologies in Russia are now developing very actively, both in state industry, and in the private segment. If we talk about gliders, we are now approximately at the level of world standards in terms of small-sized UAVs and have a non-critical - less than three years - lag in terms of ultra-light composite structures for drones large sizes. If we talk about navigation and control systems, then our developments are not inferior to foreign analogues, but the disadvantage is that they are still made on a foreign element base. By power plants We are somewhat behind, but I can state that we are currently developing developments in the field of localizing the production of piston and turbojet engines, so that the domestic industry is filling this niche at an accelerated pace. We create our own problem-oriented products for processing monitoring data and are already introducing them to the world market. And in terms of integration into the common airspace, we may even be 1–2 years ahead of the world level.”
Specialists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics named after. G.I.Budkera SB RAS (BINP SB RAS) manufactured an industrial accelerator of the ILU-8 family for the Special Design Bureau of the Cable Industry (OKB KP, Mytishchi). It will allow the customer to increase productivity by 100 times and reduce the cost of the production process by 25% compared to the method currently used.
After irradiation, the products increase in strength and heat resistance; they become suitable for use at temperatures reaching 200 degrees Celsius. With the help of ILU-8, OKB KP specialists plan to organize mass production new type of wires for the military industry.
“Processing of cable products on the ILU-8 accelerator,” comments Researcher INP SB RAS Vadim Viktorovich Bezuglov, - will allow the specialists of the OKB KP to increase production a hundred times - a wire 0.12 centimeters thick is irradiated at a speed of 120 meters per minute. This process significantly increases the strength of the product. According to the requirements, the wire must withstand at least 300 cycles of exposure to a steel string. Products processed using the ILU-8 installation can withstand from 600 to 1300 such impacts. The use of an accelerator significantly reduces the cost of production, since the irradiation method currently used by the OKB KP is based on the use of an expensive and rather dangerous radioactive isotope - cobalt-60.”
OKB KP specialists will use the ILU-8 accelerator for mass production of a new type of wire with fluoroplastic composites. PTFE double-layer insulation has a number of advantages. This is a heavy material, and wires coated with it can easily be pulled through narrow channels inside aircraft or other equipment where saving space is important. This wire is heat-resistant and can withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius.
OKB KP employees have already begun processing the wires different thicknesses on ILU-8. Laboratory analysis of irradiated samples indicates that they meet the requirements.
The ILU-8 accelerator is an example of import substitution in high-tech production, since it is affordable, quality equipment, in favor of which large state and commercial enterprises make a choice, refusing foreign analogues due to the high cost and difficulty of maintenance.
ILU-8 is the most compact accelerator of the ILU family, its height with radiation protection is 3 meters, its width and length are 2.5 meters, and its weight with radiation protection is 76 tons. The advantage of this accelerator is that there is no need to build a separate bunker for it; the protection is a box of thick steel plates. The installation can be placed directly in the customer’s workshop, and all the necessary equipment can be installed next to it. This factor significantly reduces the cost of production.
Just 20 years ago, Russia was one of the world leaders in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. Only 950 Tu-143 aerial reconnaissance aircraft were produced in the 80s of the last century. The famous reusable spaceship"Buran", which made its first and only flight in completely unmanned mode. I don’t see any point in somehow giving up on the development and use of drones now.
Background of Russian drones (Tu-141, Tu-143, Tu-243). In the mid-sixties, the Tupolev Design Bureau began creating new complexes unmanned reconnaissance tactical and operational purpose. On August 30, 1968, Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N 670-241 was issued on the development of a new unmanned complex tactical reconnaissance"Flight" (VR-3) and the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "143" (Tu-143) included in it. The deadline for presenting the complex for testing was specified in the Resolution: for the version with photo reconnaissance equipment - 1970, for the version with equipment for television reconnaissance and for the version with equipment for radiation reconnaissance - 1972.
The Tu-143 reconnaissance UAV was mass-produced in two variants with a replaceable nose part: a photo reconnaissance version with recording information on board, and a television reconnaissance version with the transmission of information via radio to ground command posts. In addition, the reconnaissance aircraft could be equipped with radiation reconnaissance equipment with the transmission of materials about the radiation situation along the flight route to the ground via a radio channel. The Tu-143 UAV is presented at an exhibition of aviation equipment at the Central Aerodrome in Moscow and at the Museum in Monino (you can also see the Tu-141 UAV there).
As part of the aerospace show in Zhukovsky MAKS-2007 near Moscow, in the closed part of the exhibition, the MiG aircraft manufacturing corporation showed its attack unmanned system "Scat" - an aircraft designed according to the "flying wing" design and outwardly very reminiscent of the American bomber B-2 Spirit or its a smaller version is the X-47B maritime unmanned aerial vehicle.
"Scat" is designed to strike both pre-reconnaissance stationary targets, primarily air defense systems, in conditions of strong opposition from enemy anti-aircraft weapons, and mobile ground and sea targets when conducting autonomous and group actions, joint with manned aircraft.
Its maximum take-off weight should be 10 tons. Flight range - 4 thousand kilometers. Flight speed near the ground is at least 800 km/h. It will be able to carry two air-to-surface/air-to-radar missiles or two adjustable aerial bombs with a total mass of no more than 1 ton.
The aircraft is designed according to the flying wing design. In addition, well-known techniques for reducing radar signature were clearly visible in the design. Thus, the wingtips are parallel to its leading edge and the contours of the rear part of the device are made in exactly the same way. Above the middle part of the wing, the Skat had a fuselage of a characteristic shape, smoothly connected to the load-bearing surfaces. Vertical tail was not provided. As can be seen from the photographs of the Skat model, control was to be carried out using four elevons located on the consoles and on the center section. At the same time, certain questions were immediately raised by the yaw controllability: due to the lack of a rudder and a single-engine design, the UAV needed to somehow solve this problem. There is a version about a single deflection of the internal elevons for yaw control.
The model presented at the MAKS-2007 exhibition had the following dimensions: a wingspan of 11.5 meters, a length of 10.25 and a parking height of 2.7 m. Regarding the mass of the Skat, all that is known is that its maximum take-off weight should have been approximately equal to ten tons. With such parameters, the Skat had good calculated flight data. At a maximum speed of up to 800 km/h, it could rise to a height of up to 12 thousand meters and cover up to 4000 kilometers in flight. Such flight performance was planned to be achieved using a two-circuit turbojet engine RD-5000B with a thrust of 5040 kgf. This turbojet engine was created on the basis of the RD-93 engine, but was initially equipped with a special flat nozzle, which reduces the visibility of the aircraft in the infrared range. The engine air intake was located in the forward part of the fuselage and was an unregulated intake device.
Inside the characteristically shaped fuselage, the Skat had two cargo compartments measuring 4.4 x 0.75 x 0.65 meters. With such dimensions, it was possible to hang guided missiles of various types, as well as adjustable bombs, in the cargo compartments. The total mass of the Stingray's combat load should have been approximately two tons. During the presentation at the MAKS-2007 salon, next to the Skat there were Kh-31 missiles and KAB-500 adjustable bombs. The composition of the on-board equipment implied by the project was not disclosed. Based on information about other projects of this class, we can draw conclusions about the presence of a complex of navigation and sighting equipment, as well as some capabilities for autonomous actions.
The Dozor-600 UAV (developed by Transas designers), also known as Dozor-3, is much lighter than the Skat or Proryv. Its maximum take-off weight does not exceed 710-720 kilograms. Moreover, due to the classic aerodynamic layout with a full fuselage and a straight wing, it has approximately the same dimensions as the Stingray: a wingspan of twelve meters and a total length of seven. In the bow of the Dozor-600 there is space for target equipment, and in the middle there is a stabilized platform for observation equipment. A propeller group is located in the tail section of the drone. It is based on a Rotax 914 piston engine, similar to those installed on the Israeli IAI Heron UAV and the American MQ-1B Predator.
The 115 horsepower engine allows the Dozor-600 drone to accelerate to a speed of about 210-215 km/h or make long flights at a cruising speed of 120-150 km/h. When using additional fuel tanks, this UAV is capable of staying in the air for up to 24 hours. Thus, the practical flight range is approaching 3,700 kilometers.
Based on the characteristics of the Dozor-600 UAV, we can draw conclusions about its purpose. Its relatively low take-off weight does not allow it to transport any serious weapons, which limits the range of tasks it can perform exclusively to reconnaissance. However, a number of sources mention the possibility of installing various weapons on the Dozor-600, the total mass of which does not exceed 120-150 kilograms. Because of this, the range of weapons permissible for use is limited only to certain types of guided missiles, in particular anti-tank missiles. It is noteworthy that when using anti-tank guided missiles, the Dozor-600 becomes largely similar to the American MQ-1B Predator, both in technical characteristics and in the composition of its weapons.
Heavy attack unmanned aerial vehicle project. The development of the research topic “Hunter” to study the possibility of creating an attack UAV weighing up to 20 tons in the interests of the Russian Air Force was or is being carried out by the Sukhoi company (JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau). For the first time, the plans of the Ministry of Defense to adopt an attack UAV were announced at the MAKS-2009 air show in August 2009. According to a statement by Mikhail Pogosyan in August 2009, the design of a new attack unmanned aerial system was to be the first working together relevant units of the Sukhoi and MiG Design Bureaus (Skat project). The media reported the conclusion of a contract for the implementation of the Okhotnik research work with the Sukhoi company on July 12, 2011. In August 2011, the merger of the relevant divisions of RSK MiG and Sukhoi to develop a promising strike UAV was confirmed in the media, but the official agreement between MiG " and "Sukhoi" were signed only on October 25, 2012.
The terms of reference for the strike UAV were approved by the Russian Ministry of Defense on the first of April 2012. On July 6, 2012, information appeared in the media that the Sukhoi company had been selected by the Russian Air Force as the lead developer. An unnamed industry source also reports that the strike UAV developed by Sukhoi will simultaneously be a sixth-generation fighter. As of mid-2012, it is expected that the first sample of the strike UAV will begin testing no earlier than 2016. It is expected to enter service by 2020. In 2012, JSC VNIIRA carried out a selection of patent materials on the topic of R&D “Hunter”, and in In the future, it was planned to create navigation systems for landing and taxiing heavy UAVs on the instructions of Sukhoi Company OJSC (source).
Media reports that the first sample of a heavy attack UAV named after the Sukhoi Design Bureau will be ready in 2018.
Combat use (otherwise they will say exhibition copies are Soviet junk)
“For the first time in the world, the Russian Armed Forces carried out an attack on a fortified area of militants with combat drones. In the province of Latakia, army units Syrian army, with the support of Russian paratroopers and Russian combat drones, took the strategic height of 754.5, the Siriatel tower.
More recently, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Gerasimov, said that Russia is striving to completely robotize the battle, and perhaps soon we will witness how robotic groups independently conduct military operations, and this is what happened.
In Russia in 2013 it was adopted airborne weapons the latest automated control system "Andromeda-D", with which you can carry out operational control of a mixed group of troops.
The use of the latest high-tech equipment allows the command to ensure continuous control of troops performing combat training missions at unfamiliar training grounds, and the Airborne Forces command to monitor their actions, being at a distance of more than 5 thousand kilometers from their deployment sites, receiving from the training area not only a graphic picture of the moving units, but also video images of their actions in real time.
Depending on the tasks, the complex can be mounted on the chassis of a two-axle KamAZ, BTR-D, BMD-2 or BMD-4. In addition, taking into account the specifics of the Airborne Forces, Andromeda-D is adapted for loading into an aircraft, flight and landing.
This system, as well as combat drones, were deployed to Syria and tested in combat conditions.
Six Platform-M robotic complexes and four Argo complexes took part in the attack on the heights; the drone attack was supported by self-propelled drones recently deployed to Syria artillery installations(self-propelled guns) "Acacia", which can destroy enemy positions with overhead fire.
From the air, drones conducted reconnaissance behind the battlefield, transmitting information to the deployed Andromeda-D field center, as well as to Moscow to the National Defense Control Center command post Russian General Staff.
Combat robots, self-propelled guns, and drones were linked to the Andromeda-D automated control system. The commander of the attack to the heights, in real time, led the battle, the operators of combat drones, being in Moscow, led the attack, everyone saw both their own area of the battle and the whole picture as a whole.
The drones were the first to attack, approaching 100-120 meters to the militants’ fortifications, they called fire on themselves, and immediately attacked the detected firing points with self-propelled guns.
Behind the drones, at a distance of 150-200 meters, Syrian infantry advanced, clearing the heights.
The militants did not have the slightest chance, all their movements were controlled by drones, artillery strikes were carried out on the discovered militants, literally 20 minutes after the start of the attack by combat drones, the militants fled in horror, abandoning the dead and wounded. On the slopes of height 754.5, almost 70 militants were killed, there were no dead Syrian soldiers, only 4 wounded.”
I quote the press: " Ground tracking equipment recorded the appearance of an unknown military unmanned aerial vehicle in the sky over Ulyanovsk, the Kommersant newspaper writes in its issue dated February 24. A special commission has been created at the Volga Territorial Administration of Air Transport to investigate the incident.
The incident occurred on the morning of February 17 in the regulated aircraft flight zone of Barataevka Airport. The aircraft appeared on radar screens dangerously close to two DOSAAF flying club aircraft conducting training. The drone followed at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour at an altitude of more than two thousand meters on the same course as the L-29 training aircraft of the flying club, and came into their tail. The controller gave the pilots a command to change course. After this, the drone continued to fly in the direction of Penza and soon disappeared from radar.
At the Ulyanovsk organization center air traffic confirmed information about the appearance of an unidentified drone in the civil aircraft flight zone, but did not disclose any details about the incident. According to a Kommersant source close to the aviation industry, the dimensions of the drone were similar to the L-29 training aircraft (wingspan of about ten meters, fuselage length of almost 11 meters, weight when ready for takeoff - more than three tons). As the newspaper notes, the Skat drone project had similar characteristics, the development of which, however, had previously been suspended.
Kommersant's source in the Ministry of Defense rejected the version that any foreign aircraft could have flown over Ulyanovsk, since no border crossing was recorded. The defense department did not provide any other comments about the incident." ( Lenta.ru )
"Kommersant": Military drone went AWOL: " "In the sky above Ulyanovsk, the appearance of an unknown heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military purposes was recorded."
Aviation circles note that this is “a rather scandalous incident, since an unknown drone actually appeared over the city.”
IMHO: Let me doubt that we can talk about the "Scat" of the MiG corporation, whose passport data is: wingspan 11.5 meters, length 10.25, parking height 2.7 m, maximum take-off weight - 10 tons, maximum speed up to 800 km/h, altitude ceiling - 12 thousand meters, flight range up to 4000 kilometers, RD-5000B bypass turbojet engine with a thrust of 5040 kgf, protected from detection in the infrared range. The reason for doubt is the complete unavailability of Skat's radio-electronic equipment at the moment, in particular the software; to date, these issues have not been resolved by Sukhoi.
But it is very likely that in the airspace of Ulyanovsk there was a Yak-133BR “Proryv-U”, the “Proryv” program of the Yakovlev company. The Yak-133BR UAV is protected from radar detection at long and medium ranges. Its characteristics are similar to the Skat: take-off weight up to ten tons in the shock version, service ceiling of about 16 kilometers, speed up to 1100 km/h. However, it is possible we're talking about about the Proryv-R or Proryv-RLD models, which have the ability to stay in the air for up to 16 hours. By performance characteristics series The Proryv UAVs are similar to the promising X-47B UAVs, developed by Northrop Grumman, and the X-45B, developed by Boeing.
If, however, the impressions of observers about the similarity in size with the L-29 aircraft were somewhat exaggerated, then we can also talk about the KAMAZ Dozor-600, a patrol UAV of the Predator/Hermes class, developed by Gennady Trubnikov, but I doubt that it In general, it can be compared with L-29, except with reference to optical illusions.
It would be interesting to know that we are talking about a classic unmanned aircraft developed by the Kazan Design Bureau "Sokol" (Research and Development Institute "Altius").
But, preliminary, a more probable event, apparently, should be considered that the tests were carried out by the Design Bureau named after. A.S. Yakovlev, and in the air was a model by Yuri Yankevich, the Irkut corporation with the participation of the Italian company Alenia Ermacchi (Finmeccanica group of companies). To date, all permits have already been received from the Ministries of Defense of Russia and Italy.
When creating the Yak-133 UAV, the experience and developments on the Yak-130 UTK were taken into account.
Where did the UAV come from? So from GLITs in Akhtubinsk... or from the assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod aviation plant "Sokol" and this, quite possibly, is an unmanned reconnaissance and attack aircraft Yak-133BR. And, yes, it’s more like an “Albatross” than a “Dolphin”.
Yes, I forgot to say, but the Italians somehow didn’t take root in Russia, and they left the “Breakthrough” project having acquired the right to develop their own version of the UAV and produce their own M346 aircraft on the basis of a joint project.