Heavy attack drone "Zenitsa", also known as "Altair". Domestic weapons and military equipment Domestic heavy drones Zenitsa
State tests of the new Russian heavy attack drone could begin as early as next year. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov during a visit to the Kazan Design Bureau named after Simonov. As it appears, we're talking about about the first Russian heavy attack drone “Zenitsa”.
This drone was developed in Kazan and made its first flight back in 2014. Out now prototype, which takes into account all the experimental data obtained during preliminary tests. It is he, as Borisov expects, who will enter state testing next year. The Deputy Minister is confident that the tests will take place in a short time and will fully confirm that the designers have fulfilled the technical specifications. That is, purchases by the Zenitsa army are expected already in 2018. It is assumed that at first the serial production of the drone can reach 250 units.
About attack drones We've been saying this for a long time. Without them in service, we spent a long time and energetically “exposing” the American Predator. It is supposedly an extremely indiscriminate weapon, firing missiles at both foot and horse and personnel, and on enemy military equipment, and on civilians.
However, already at that time, energetic work was underway in our own state design bureaus and private firms to create the first Russian analogues"Predator". From time to time, reports appeared that some developer was already two steps away from transferring unmanned manpower fighters and armored vehicles for state testing.
Most of all, they talked about Dozor-600, created by the Kronstadt company since the middle of the last decade. The prototype made its first flight in 2009. Since then, information has periodically appeared that a little more and... In 2013, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu demanded that the progress of work be accelerated. But at the moment this makes little sense. Because Dozor-600 is yesterday’s unmanned aircraft. Its payload is only 120 kg. The American veteran Predator, which has been in operation since the last century, has a weight of 204 kg. And the modern Reaper has 1700 kg. True, the developers insist that Dozor-600 is not only an attack drone, but also a reconnaissance drone. However, our army already has quite enough unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for every taste.
Kronstadt has another development. And it was carried out jointly with the aforementioned Kazan Design Bureau named after. Simonova. This is the "Pacer", which is both more impressive than the "Dozor-600" and has a higher readiness. A year ago, information appeared that tests of the “Pacer” had begun at the Gromov Flight Research Institute. Nothing is known about the prospects for its adoption. And this is not surprising, since he was also very late in his birth. This is perfectly illustrated by a comparison of the main performance characteristics of the “Pacer” and the American “Predator”, which was put into service in 1995.
Flight characteristics of the Predator and Pacer UAVs
Maximum take-off weight, kg: 1020 - 1200
Payload weight, kg: 204 - 300 Engine type: piston - piston
Maximum flight altitude, m: 7900 - 8000
Maximum speed, km/h: 215 - presumably 210 Cruising speed, km/h: 130 - presumably 120−150 Flight duration, hours: 40 - 24 Although, of course, light attack drones, which include the “Pacer,” have their niche in the army. They do an excellent job of solving anti-terrorist tasks of eliminating “particularly outstanding” militants. It is this path that Israel is following, creating compact drones armed with one or two short-range missiles with precise targeting.
OKB im. Simonova attacks the problem of creating a domestic strike drone on a broad front, not limiting herself to the development of two topics. In this case, all developments are brought to the stage of at least the production of prototypes. Big hopes Simonov's team associated it with a middle-class Altair drone - weighing up to 5 tons.
Altair made its first flight at the end of last year. However, it turned out that the creation of a fully functional sample is still far away. The OKB is constantly and quite radically refining its brainchild. So, instead of the stated 5 tons, the drone began to weigh 7 tons. And according to the technical specifications, it was assumed that it would have a payload mass of about two tons, and a ceiling of 12 km. The maximum flight time is 48 hours. In this case, the drone must have a stable connection with the control complex at a distance of up to 450 km without the use of satellite channels.
Other characteristics are classified. But from what is known, it can be assumed that Altair should be at least no worse than the American Reper. Its ceiling is slightly lower, but the flight duration is significantly longer - 48 hours versus 28 hours.
When the development amount exceeded 2 billion rubles, the Ministry of Defense decided to reduce funding. At the same time, Altair was given a chance - by proposing to create a civilian modification for monitoring Arctic regions, so that civilian structures would co-finance the project.
Kazan residents, if they receive additional sources of funding, intend to complete the development of Altair in 2019 and introduce the drone into mass production in 2020. The decision to cut funding was made two weeks ago.
Upon careful study of the question of how many heavy attack drones the OKB im. Simonov, there is a suspicion (based on facts) that they are trying to present us with one product under the guise of another.
Firstly, Yuri Borisov, while in Kazan, said that the Simonov Design Bureau won a competition for the development of a heavy drone several years ago in a difficult competition. However, we know for certain that in the tender the Simonov team won the right to create the Altair, and not the Zenitsa. The cost of the tender is also known - 1.6 billion rubles.
Secondly, “Zenica” is not heavy drone, its take-off weight is 1080 kg. And, therefore, the payload cannot in any way exceed a quarter of a ton. It is known that it was developed on the basis of the Soviet Tu-143 “Flight” drone, which was put into service back in 1982. The characteristics, of course, have been significantly improved today. For example, the ceiling increased from 1000 m to 9000 m, and the flight range - from 180 km to 750 km. But, of course, this became possible due to a significant increase in fuel mass, which did not benefit the payload. So the 250 kg we estimate may turn out to be too much for Zenitsa.
Flight characteristics of the UAV "Zenitsa"
Length - 7.5 m.
Wingspan - 2 m.
However, soon funding for the project ceased due to the policy of then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to purchase high-tech weapons for the army abroad.
The terms of reference for the “Hunter” were approved by the Ministry of Defense in 2012. Its details have not been disclosed. The drone will be built on a modular basis, which will allow it to be used to solve a wide range of tasks. The developers were determined to begin testing the prototype in 2016 and transfer it to the army in 2020. However, as usual, the deadlines have slipped. The year before last, the first flight of the prototype was postponed to 2018.
Since nothing is known about the flight characteristics of the Okhotnik, we present the characteristics of the Skat UAV. Logically, the Hunter’s performance should be at least as good.
Length - 10.25 m Wing span - 11.5 m Height - 2.7 m Maximum take-off weight - 20000 kg TRD engine thrust - 5040 kgf Maximum speed - 850 km/h Flight range - 4000 km Service ceiling - 15000 m Combat load - 6000 kg.
Russia is restoring the missing link in the Aerospace Forces system
In 2016, the Russian army will begin to receive new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of covering ultra-long distances. In particular, the devices will go to the unmanned aviation units of the Eastern Military District. Earlier, information appeared in the media that in 2016, promising UAVs capable of traveling up to a thousand kilometers will be adopted.
Experts suggest that we are talking about heavy strike systems weighing from about 1 to 20 tons. Heavy vehicles can carry several bombs and even air-to-ground missiles on board. At the moment the drums and promising devices, capable of performing long-distance reconnaissance, Russian army No.
The Russian military-industrial complex began work on creating such drones in the mid-2000s, but under Anatoly Serdyukov, the work was limited to demonstrating prototypes or trying to buy UAVs from Israel. It is planned to completely fill the missing link in the system of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation by 2020.
"Hunter", "Pacer" and "Altius-M"
In January 2015, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov announced that Russia had created a heavy UAV capable of conducting reconnaissance and destroying targets. Performance characteristics the device is kept secret. According to media reports, Sukhoi Design Bureau (Moscow), Sokol Design Bureau (Kazan) and Transas Aviation CJSC (St. Petersburg) are working on the heavy drone project.
At the beginning of October 2011, in the Ministry of Defense competition for the creation of UAVs weighing up to 1 ton, the “Pacer” project won, and the “Altius-M” project, up to 5 tons, won. An attack UAV weighing up to 20 tons is being developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau based on the Skat project, which has been developed by RSK MiG since 2005. New project received the name "Hunter".
According to unconfirmed reports, the Okhotnik will also be a sixth-generation fighter. Its first flight is expected in 2018, and entry into service in 2020. Like the Stingray, the new drone will take the form of a flying wing (the so-called “flying saucer”).
Simultaneously with the Okhotnik, Sukhoi is conducting development work to create the device. medium range“Zenitsa”, the speed of which will be 800 kilometers per hour. Presumably, this UAV is created on the basis of the Tu-143 “Flight” developed in the 1970s, which is designed to conduct tactical reconnaissance in the front line.
Another project of the Russian Aerospace Forces is Dozor-600, which belongs to the class of heavy medium-altitude drones with a long flight duration. Experts suggest that the device is a direct analogue of the American MQ-1 Predator. Despite the fact that Dozor-600 weighs 720 kg, it is capable of performing the functions of an attack UAV.
Russia is catching up with the USA
The range of applications for unmanned aircraft is extremely wide, but special meaning it has in the modern theater of war. Operating aircraft is more expensive, and their flight involves a risk to the life of the pilot: enemy air defense and air forces are not asleep, and anything can happen in the sky.
Therefore, a reconnaissance and attack drone is an excellent assistant to combat aviation and ground forces. In the future, drones will be able to carry out the most risky missions that are now afraid to send aircraft, ground reconnaissance and special forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense realized the importance of UAVs for the effectiveness of the armed forces after the conflict with Georgia in August 2008, in which the enemy quite successfully used Israeli-made systems. Initially, it was decided to eliminate the backlog in the field of UAVs by importing devices from Israel Aerospace Industries.
Model of the UAV "Altius-M". Photo: Marat Khusainov / prav.tatarstan.ru
However, the practice of purchasing foreign equipment, which Serdyukov widely used, was soon discontinued. The Israeli side, after supplying Russia with small and medium UAVs Bird-Eye-400, I-View and Sercher Mk.2, refused to sell the more popular heavy unmanned systems.
In 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced that the Russian army would have its own attack UAV, which would not be inferior to its American counterpart. The massive supply of drones to the Russian armed forces began already in 2013. So far, the Russian Aerospace Forces are armed with short- and medium-range drones (mainly Orlan, Reis, Strizh).
Only the United States and Israel have full-fledged attack unmanned aircraft. Russia, together with China, is on the list of catching up countries. In the USSR, drones began to be created in the 1950s. UAVs were mainly used in the interests of the GRU. These were small-sized supersonic high-altitude vehicles, distinguished by high technology for their time. In addition, in the USSR, UAVs were actively used as “target aircraft” for training fighter aircraft and training firing from anti-aircraft installations.
Attack UAVs to help Syria
In a conversation with Russian Planet, the founder of the Military Russia portal, Dmitry Kornev, noted that the West realized the possibility of wider use of UAVs a little earlier. In the Soviet Union, the “boom” for drones occurred later - in the mid-1980s. During this period, the Yakovlev Design Bureau created the Shmel-1 apparatus, which was advanced at that time.
“With the collapse of the USSR, development and production work was naturally stopped. Enterprises oriented towards the Ministry of Defense did not create drones, since there was no order, and private manufacturers in the Russian Federation appeared only in the late 1990s - early 2000s,” Kornev stated.
The liquidation of the USSR led to the degradation of the military-industrial complex and, as a consequence, unmanned aircraft. Russia missed the key trend in the UAV field - the move away from miniaturization towards the creation of heavy drones. During the difficult period in our country, sectors so important for the development of promising UAVs, such as microelectronics and robotics, sank greatly. Also, the Russian defense industry has problems with software development and operating systems necessary for the operation of drones.
Dmitry Kornev believes that the Ministry of Defense has learned lessons, and necessary work are already coming. One of the options for additional stimulation of the UAV industry, according to the expert, could be government investment in commercial production, since the universality of the functions of reconnaissance drones does not imply special regime secrecy.
An air operation in Syria could be an excellent “testing ground” for testing attack drones in combat. Currently, only reconnaissance drones perform missions in the Syrian skies. Taking into account the plans announced by the Ministry of Defense, we can expect that in 2016, heavy drones will be used in the Syrian operation. The need for attack UAVs to enter service with the Aerospace Forces as soon as possible is once again evidenced by the tragic incident with the Su-24M.
UAV TU-143 “FLIGHT” (Photo: rostec.ru)
State tests of a new Russian heavy attack drone could begin as early as next year. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov during a visit to the Kazan Design Bureau named after Simonov. Apparently, we are talking about the first Russian heavy attack drone “Zenitsa”.
This drone was developed in Kazan and made its first flight back in 2014. Now a prototype is being produced, which takes into account all the experimental data obtained during preliminary tests. It is he, as Borisov expects, who will enter state testing next year. The Deputy Minister is confident that the tests will take place in a short time and will fully confirm that the designers have fulfilled the technical specifications. That is, purchases by the Zenitsa army are expected already in 2018. It is assumed that at first the serial production of the drone can reach 250 units.
We have been talking about attack drones for a long time. Without them in service, we spent a long time and energetically “exposing” the American Predator. It is supposedly an extremely indiscriminate weapon, firing missiles at both foot and horsemen, enemy personnel and military equipment, and civilians.
However, already at that time, energetic work was underway in our own state design bureaus and private firms to create the first Russian analogues of the Predator. From time to time, reports appeared that some developer was already two steps away from transferring unmanned manpower fighters and armored vehicles for state testing.
Most of all, they talked about Dozor-600, created by the Kronstadt company since the middle of the last decade. The prototype made its first flight in 2009. Since then, information has periodically appeared that a little more and... In 2013, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu demanded that the progress of work be accelerated. But at the moment this makes little sense. Because Dozor-600 is yesterday’s unmanned aircraft. Its payload is only 120 kg. The American veteran Predator, which has been in operation since the last century, has a weight of 204 kg. And the modern Reaper has 1700 kg. True, the developers insist that Dozor-600 is not only an attack drone, but also a reconnaissance drone. However, our army already has quite enough unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for every taste.
Kronstadt has another development. And it was carried out jointly with the aforementioned Kazan Design Bureau named after. Simonova. This is the "Pacer", which is both more impressive than the "Dozor-600" and has a higher readiness. A year ago, information appeared that tests of the “Pacer” had begun at the Gromov Flight Research Institute. Nothing is known about the prospects for its adoption. And this is not surprising, since he was also very late in his birth. This is perfectly illustrated by a comparison of the main performance characteristics of the “Pacer” and the American “Predator”, which was put into service in 1995.
Flight characteristics of the Predator and Pacer UAVs
Maximum take-off weight, kg: 1020 - 1200
Payload weight, kg: 204 - 300
Engine type: piston - piston
Maximum flight altitude, m: 7900 - 8000
Maximum speed, km/h: 215 - presumably 210
Cruising speed, km/h: 130 - presumably 120−150
Flight duration, hours: 40 - 24
Although, of course, light attack drones, such as the “Pacer”, have their own niche in the army. They do an excellent job of solving anti-terrorist tasks of eliminating “particularly outstanding” militants. It is this path that Israel is following, creating compact drones armed with one or two short-range missiles with precise targeting.
OKB im. Simonova attacks the problem of creating a domestic strike drone on a broad front, not limiting herself to the development of two topics. In this case, all developments are brought to the stage of at least the production of prototypes. Simonov's team pinned great hopes on the middle-class Altair drone, weighing up to 5 tons.
Altair made its first flight at the end of last year. However, it turned out that the creation of a fully functional sample is still far away. The OKB is constantly and quite radically refining its brainchild. So, instead of the stated 5 tons, the drone began to weigh 7 tons. And according to the technical specifications, it was assumed that it would have a payload mass of about two tons, and a ceiling of 12 km. The maximum flight time is 48 hours. In this case, the drone must have a stable connection with the control complex at a distance of up to 450 km without the use of satellite channels.
Other characteristics are classified. But from what is known, it can be assumed that Altair should be at least no worse than the American Reper. Its ceiling is slightly lower, but the flight duration is significantly longer - 48 hours versus 28 hours.
When the development amount exceeded 2 billion rubles, the Ministry of Defense decided to reduce funding. At the same time, Altair was given a chance - by proposing to create a civilian modification for monitoring Arctic regions, so that civilian structures would co-finance the project.
If they receive additional sources of funding, Kazan intends to complete the development of Altair in 2019 and introduce the drone into mass production in 2020. The decision to cut funding was made two weeks ago.
Upon careful study of the question of how many heavy attack drones the OKB im. Simonov, there is a suspicion (based on facts) that they are trying to present us with one product under the guise of another.
Firstly, Yuri Borisov, while in Kazan, said that the Simonov Design Bureau won a competition for the development of a heavy drone several years ago in a difficult competition. However, we know for certain that in the tender the Simonov team won the right to create the Altair, and not the Zenitsa. The cost of the tender is also known - 1.6 billion rubles.
Secondly, Zenitsa is not a heavy drone; its take-off weight is 1080 kg. And, therefore, the payload cannot in any way exceed a quarter of a ton. It is known that it was developed on the basis of the Soviet Tu-143 “Flight” drone, which was put into service back in 1982. The characteristics, of course, have been significantly improved today. For example, the ceiling increased from 1000 m to 9000 m, and the flight range - from 180 km to 750 km. But, of course, this became possible due to a significant increase in fuel mass, which did not benefit the payload. So the 250 kg we estimate may turn out to be too much for Zenitsa.
Flight characteristics of the UAV "Zenitsa"
Length - 7.5 m.
Wingspan - 2 m.
Height - 1.4 m.
Maximum take-off weight - 1080 kg.
Cruising flight speed - 650 km/h
Maximum flight speed - 820 km/h
Maximum flight range - 750 km
Maximum flight altitude - 9100 m
Aircraft engine type - jet
So we can assume that under the guise of “Zenitsa” they are offering us “Altair”, the attitude towards which at the Ministry of Defense, due to unknown reasons, has changed dramatically.
If we talk about a truly heavy attack drone, which our aviation industry may soon produce, then this is the 20-ton Okhotnik UAV. Although he should have already been born under the name “Scat”. The fact is that from the beginning of the 2000s, Skat was developed by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau. In 2007, a full-size model was presented at the MAKS-2007 salon. However, soon funding for the project ceased due to the policy of then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to purchase high-tech weapons for the army abroad.
After the change of minister, the project was unfrozen, but transferred to the Sukhoi Design Bureau. RSK MiG was involved in the project as a co-executor.
The terms of reference for the “Hunter” were approved by the Ministry of Defense in 2012. Its details have not been disclosed. The drone will be built on a modular basis, which will allow it to be used to solve a wide range of tasks. The developers were determined to begin testing the prototype in 2016 and transfer it to the army in 2020. However, as usual, the deadlines have slipped. The year before last, the first flight of the prototype was postponed to 2018.
Since nothing is known about the flight characteristics of the Okhotnik, we present the characteristics of the Skat UAV. Logically, the Hunter’s performance should be at least as good.
Length - 10.25 m
Wingspan - 11.5 m
Height - 2.7 m
Maximum take-off weight - 20000 kg
TRD engine thrust - 5040 kgf
Maximum speed - 850 km/h
Flight range - 4000 km
Practical ceiling - 15000 m