Military unmanned aircraft. Russian drones (UAVs)

Just 20 years ago, Russia was one of the world leaders in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. aircraft. Only 950 Tu-143 aerial reconnaissance aircraft were produced in the 80s of the last century. The famous reusable spacecraft Buran was created, 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 tactical and unmanned reconnaissance systems. operational purpose. On August 30, 1968, Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers N 670-241 was issued on the development of a new unmanned tactical reconnaissance complex "Reis" (VR-3) and its included unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "143" (Tu-143). 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 previously scouted stationary targets, primarily against air defense systems, in conditions of strong counteraction from enemy anti-aircraft weapons, and against 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 middle part wing "Scat" had a fuselage characteristic shape, smoothly coupled with 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. It was planned to provide such flight performance 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 suspend guided missiles in the cargo compartments various types, as well as adjustable bombs. The total mass of the Stingray's combat load should have been approximately two tons. During the presentation at MAKS-2007, 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 installation on Dozor-600 various weapons, 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, 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 of the 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, drones were tied to automated system Andromeda-D control. 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.”

Conducting work on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is considered one of the most promising courses in the development of current combat aviation. The use of drones or drones has already led to important changes in the tactics and strategy of military conflicts. Moreover, it is believed that in the very near future their importance will increase significantly. Some military experts believe that the positive shift in the development of drones is the most important achievement in the aircraft industry of the last decade.

However, drones are used not only for military purposes. Today they are actively involved in “ national economy" With their help, aerial photography, patrolling, geodetic surveys, monitoring of a wide variety of objects are carried out, and some even deliver purchases home. However, the most promising new drone developments today are for military purposes.

Many problems are solved with the help of UAVs. Mainly, this is intelligence activity. Most modern drones were created specifically for this purpose. IN last years more and more drums appear unmanned vehicles. Kamikaze drones can be identified as a separate category. UAVs can conduct electronic warfare, they can be radio signal repeaters, artillery spotters, and aerial targets.

For the first time, attempts to create aircraft that were not controlled by humans were made immediately with the advent of the first airplanes. However, their practical implementation occurred only in the 70s last century. After which a real “drone boom” began. Remote controlled aviation equipment It was not possible to realize it for quite a long time, but today it is produced in abundance.

As often happens, American companies occupy a leading position in the creation of drones. And this is not surprising, because funding from the American budget for the creation of drones was simply astronomical by our standards. So, during the 90s, three billion dollars were spent on similar projects, while in 2003 alone they spent more than one billion.

Nowadays, work is underway to create the latest drones with longer flight duration. The devices themselves must be heavier and solve problems in difficult environments. Drones are being developed to combat ballistic missiles, unmanned fighters, microdrones capable of operating as part of large groups(swarms).

Work on the development of drones is underway in many countries around the world. More than one thousand companies are involved in this industry, but the most promising developments go straight to the military.

Drones: advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of unmanned aerial vehicles are:

• A significant reduction in size compared to conventional aircraft, leading to a reduction in cost and an increase in their survivability;
• The potential to create small UAVs that could perform a wide variety of tasks in combat areas;
• The ability to conduct reconnaissance and transmit information in real time;
• There are no restrictions on use in extremely difficult combat situations associated with the risk of their loss. During critical operations, multiple drones can easily be sacrificed;
• Reduction (by more than one order of magnitude) of flight operation in Peaceful time, which would be required by traditional aircraft, preparing the flight crew;
• Availability of high combat readiness and mobility;
• Potential to create small, uncomplicated mobile drone systems for non-aviation forces.

The disadvantages of UAVs include:

• Insufficient flexibility of use compared to traditional aircraft;
• Difficulties in resolving issues with communication, landing, and rescue of vehicles;
• In terms of reliability, drones are still inferior to conventional aircraft;
• Limiting drone flights during peacetime.

A little history of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

The first remote-controlled aircraft was the Fairy Queen, built in 1933 in Great Britain. It was a target aircraft for fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft guns.

And the first production drone to participate in real war, there was a V-1 rocket. This German “miracle weapon” bombarded Great Britain. In total, up to 25,000 units of such equipment were produced. The V-1 had a pulse jet engine and an autopilot with route data.

After the war, they worked on unmanned reconnaissance systems in the USSR and the USA. Soviet drones were spy planes. With their help, aerial photography, electronic reconnaissance, and relay were carried out.

Israel has done a lot to develop drones. Since 1978 they have had their first drone, the IAI Scout. During the 1982 Lebanon War israeli army using drones, completely destroyed the Syrian air defense system. As a result, Syria lost almost 20 air defense batteries and almost 90 aircraft. This affected the attitude of military science towards UAVs.

The Americans used UAVs in Desert Storm and the Yugoslav campaign. In the 90s, they became leaders in the development of drones. So, since 2012, they had almost 8 thousand UAVs of a wide variety of modifications. These were mainly small army reconnaissance drones, but there were also attack UAVs.

The first of them in 2002 missile strike killed one of the heads of Al-Qaeda using a car. Since then, the use of UAVs to eliminate enemy military forces or its units has become commonplace.

Types of drones

Currently, there are a lot of drones that differ in size, appearance, flight range, and functionality. UAVs differ in their control methods and their autonomy.

They can be:

• Uncontrollable;
• Remote controlled;
• Automatic.

According to their sizes, drones are:

• Microdrones (up to 10 kg);
• Minidrones (up to 50 kg);
• Mididrons (up to 1 ton);
• Heavy drones (weighing more than a ton).

Microdrones can stay in the air for up to one hour, minidrones - from three to five hours, and middrones - up to fifteen hours. Heavy drones can stay in the air for more than twenty-four hours while making intercontinental flights.

Review of foreign unmanned aerial vehicles

The main trend in the development of modern drones is to reduce their size. One such example would be one of the Norwegian drones from Prox Dynamics. The helicopter drone has a length of 100 mm and a weight of 120 g, a range of up to one km, and a flight duration of up to 25 minutes. It has three video cameras.

These drones began to be produced commercially in 2012. Thus, the British military purchased 160 sets of PD-100 Black Hornet worth $31 million to conduct special operations in Afghanistan.

Microdrones are also being developed in the United States. They are working on a special program called Soldier Borne Sensors, aimed at developing and deploying reconnaissance drones with the potential to extract information for platoons or companies. There is information about plans by the American army leadership to provide individual drones to all soldiers.

Today, the RQ-11 Raven is considered the heaviest drone in the US Army. It has a mass of 1.7 kg, a wingspan of 1.5 m and a flight of up to 5 km. With an electric motor, the drone reaches speeds of up to 95 km/h and stays in flight for up to one hour.

It has a digital video camera with night vision. The launch is done manually, and no special platform is needed for landing. The devices can fly along specified routes in automatic mode, GPS signals can serve as landmarks for them, or they can be controlled by operators. These drones are in service with more than a dozen countries.

The US Army's heavy UAV is the RQ-7 Shadow, which conducts reconnaissance at the brigade level. It went into serial production in 2004 and has a two-fin tail with a pusher propeller and several modifications. These drones are equipped with conventional or infrared video cameras, radars, target illumination, laser rangefinders, and multispectral cameras. Guided five-kilogram bombs are suspended from the devices.

The RQ-5 Hunter is a mid-size half-ton drone developed jointly by the US and Israel. Its arsenal includes a television camera, a third-generation thermal imager, a laser rangefinder and other equipment. It is launched from a special platform using a rocket accelerator. Its flight zone is within a range of up to 270 km, within 12 hours. Some modifications of Hunters have pendants for small bombs.

The MQ-1 Predator is the most famous American UAV. This is a “reincarnation” of a reconnaissance drone into an attack drone, which has several modifications. The Predator conducts reconnaissance and carries out precision ground strikes. It has a maximum take-off weight of more than a ton, a radar station, several video cameras (including an IR system), other equipment and several modifications.

In 2001, a high-precision laser-guided Hellfire-C missile was created for it, which was used in Afghanistan the following year. The complex has four drones, a control station and a satellite communications terminal, and it costs more than four million dollars. The most advanced modification is the MQ-1C Gray Eagle with a larger wingspan and a more advanced engine.

The MQ-9 Reaper is the next American attack UAV, which has several modifications and has been known since 2007. It has a longer flight duration, controlled aerial bombs, and more advanced radio electronics. The MQ-9 Reaper performed admirably in the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. Its advantage over the F-16 is its lower purchase and operating price, longer flight duration without risk to the life of the pilot.

1998 - the first flight of the American strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft RQ-4 Global Hawk. Currently, this is the largest UAV with a take-off weight of more than 14 tons, with payload 1.3 tons. It can stay in the air for 36 hours, while covering 22 thousand km. It is assumed that these drones will replace U-2S reconnaissance aircraft.

Review of Russian UAVs

What is available these days? Russian army, and what are the prospects for Russian UAVs in the near future?

"Bee-1T"- Soviet drone, first flew in 1990. He was a fire spotter for systems volley fire. It had a mass of 138 kg and a range of up to 60 km. He took off from a special installation with a rocket booster and landed by parachute. Used in Chechnya, but outdated.

"Dozor-85"- reconnaissance drone for the border service with a mass of 85 kg, flight time up to 8 hours. The Skat reconnaissance and attack UAV was a promising vehicle, but work has been suspended for now.

UAV "Forpost" is a licensed copy of the Israeli Searcher 2. It was developed back in the 90s. "Forpost" has a take-off weight of up to 400 kg, a flight range of up to 250 km, satellite navigation and television cameras.

In 2007, a reconnaissance drone was adopted "Tipchak", with a launch weight of 50 kg and a flight duration of up to two hours. It has a regular and infrared camera. "Dozor-600" is a multi-purpose device developed by Transas, which was presented at the MAKS-2009 exhibition. It is considered an analogue of the American Predator.

UAVs "Orlan-3M" and "Orlan-10". They were developed for reconnaissance, search and rescue operations, and target designation. Drones are extremely similar in their appearance. However, they differ slightly in their take-off weight and flight range. They take off using a catapult and land by parachute.

For a quarter of a century, ideas have been floating around the world about creating a so-called hybrid aircraft, which in its design will combine an airship, an airplane and a helicopter. Why is such a strange design needed if all three of these types of aircraft can be used separately? But the fact is that even in the era of large Soviet construction projects, a problem arose in transporting massive structures that still had to be installed exactly in the designated place. After all, in fact, an ordinary helicopter will not carry a multi-ton drilling rig to the operation site. Therefore, the tower elements were delivered by rail, and then started assembling. This took a huge amount of time and resources, including financial ones. It was then that the Tyumen designers had the idea of ​​​​creating an aircraft that could move through the air at a relatively low speed and carry a large load.

By the way, this idea, first born in the USSR, reached the United States. Already next year, the Americans plan to take to the skies a giant Aeroscraft - both an airplane and an airship at the same time. It can be stated that Russian designers are ahead of the Americans in terms of implementing the idea of ​​a hybrid aircraft. After all, its “BARS”, which is how the hybrid is named, made its first flight over the Tyumen fields back in the mid-90s. It turns out that the job is done and our aircraft designers can rest on their laurels, however, as always, their work and talent cannot be appreciated. This is due, first of all, to total underfunding. That same “BARS”, despite its obvious advantages, has not been put into mass production, so many problems in transporting goods by air have not yet been solved.

Let's try to figure out what the advantages of hybrid aircraft are? The fact is that the design of the same “BARS” is a real integration of elements of three aircraft at once. Its body is made of the same materials as the aircraft body, but in its central part there is a technological area with several propellers. These screws allow the hybrid machine to move strictly vertically. In addition, the aircraft is equipped with helium containers, which implement the principle of airship flight and allow the hybrid to be firmly fixed to the ground during unloading. The BARS and similar models have elevators, as well as side tails, like a regular airplane. This allows him to maneuver effectively in flight.

Many may notice that an airship could cope with the function of delivering large equipment to a designated point, but the airship is much more difficult to control and is susceptible to the influence of air mass flows, which can easily lead to disaster. And the airship cannot effectively lower a large load - after lowering a multi-ton structure, the airship can take off uncontrollably, as if discarding large ballast. A hybrid aircraft does not have such disadvantages. In addition, aircraft such as BARS are equipped with an air cushion, which can allow it to fill a special capsule with water, and then use it to extinguish fires or irrigate fields.

If the Russian idea is so far entirely focused on civilian cargo transportation, then the Americans plan to use their hybrid for military purposes. The Pentagon says that it is already ready to purchase several Aeroscraft in order to use it in the future to deliver warheads and troops to hard-to-reach areas.

Of course, there is no point in saying that hybrid aircraft should be used as passenger transport. Airplanes are better suited for this purpose, because the speed of a hybrid is not higher than 200 km/h. But in terms of effectively providing remote construction sites, transporting large loads across mountain ranges, and extinguishing fires, these machines will have no equal. Note that the carrying capacity of the hybrid is about 400 tons, which is 130 tons higher than the carrying capacity of the huge Mriya aircraft.

Let's hope that flying hybrids will soon begin to be supplied to various sectors of Russian civil aviation.

However, given that the program for creating robotic combat systems in Russia is classified, it is quite possible that publicity in the media was not necessary, since, perhaps, combat tests promising examples of robotics.

Let's try to analyze open information about what kind of combat robots Russia has in its possession given time. Let's start the first part of the article with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Ka-37 is a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (unmanned helicopter) designed for aerial photography, broadcasting and relaying television and radio signals, conducting environmental experiments, delivering medicines, food and mail when providing emergency assistance in the process of eliminating accidents and disasters in areas that are difficult to reach and dangerous for humans. places.

Purpose

• Multi-role unmanned helicopter
• First flight: 1993

Specifications

• Main rotor diameter: 4.8 m
• Fuselage length: 3.14 m
• Height with rotation screws: 1.8 m
• Weight Max. takeoff 250 kg
• Engine: P-037 (2x24.6 kW)
• Cruising speed: 110 km/h
• Max. speed: 145 km/h
• Range: 20 km
• Flight range: ~100 km
• Service ceiling: 3800 m

Ka-137- reconnaissance UAV (helicopter). The first flight took place in 1999. Developed by: Kamov Design Bureau. The Ka-137 unmanned helicopter is designed in a coaxial design. The chassis is four-wheel. The body has a spherical shape with a diameter of 1.3 m.

Equipped with a satellite navigation system and a digital autopilot, the Ka-137 moves along a pre-planned route automatically and reaches a given location with an accuracy of 60 m. On the Internet it received the unofficial nickname “Pepelats” by analogy with the aircraft from the film “Kin-dza-dza!” .

Specifications

• Main propeller diameter: 5.30 m
• Length: 1.88 m
• Width: 1.88 m
• Height: 2.30 m
• Weight:
  • empty: 200 kg
  • maximum take-off: 280 kg
• Engine type 1 PD Hirht 2706 R05
• Power: 65 HP With.
• Speed:
  • maximum: 175 km/h
  • cruising: 145 km/h
• Practical range: 530 km
• Flight duration: 4 hours
• Ceiling:
  • practical: 5000 m
  • static: 2900 m
• maximum: 80 kg

PS-01 Komar is an operational unmanned aircraft, remotely piloted vehicle.

The first flight took place in 1980, developed at OSKBES MAI (Industry Special Design Bureau MAI). Three samples of the apparatus were built. On the device, a scheme of an annular tail with a pusher propeller and rudders located inside the ring was developed, which was subsequently used to create a serial complex of the Shmel-1 type.

The design features of the drone are the use of folding wings and a modular fuselage design. The wings of the device were folded in such a way that, when assembled (transported), the aircraft was placed in a container 2.2x1x0.8 m. From the transport configuration to the flight configuration, the Komar aircraft was brought in 3-5 s using hinges with self-latching latches for the extreme positions of all folding elements .

The UAV fuselage had a detachable head module with three quick-release locks, which ensured easy change of modules. This reduced the time for replacing a module with a target load, the time for loading the aircraft with pesticides or biological protection agents for agricultural areas.

Specifications

• Normal take-off weight, kg 90
• Maximum ground speed, km/h 180
• Practical flight range with load, km 100
• Aircraft length, m 2.15
• Wingspan, m 2.12

Reconnaissance UAV. The first flight took place in 1983. Work on the creation of a mini-UAV has begun at the Design Bureau named after. A. S. Yakovleva in 1982, based on the experience of studying the combat use of Israeli UAVs in the 1982 war. In 1985, the development of the Shmel-1 UAV with a four-legged chassis began. Flight tests of the Shmel-1 UAV in a version equipped with television and IR equipment began in 1989. The device is designed for 10 launches, stored and transported folded in a fiberglass container. Equipped with replaceable sets of reconnaissance equipment, which include a television camera and a thermal imaging camera, installed on a gyro-stabilized ventral platform. Parachute landing method.

Specifications

• Wingspan, m 3.25
• Length, m 2.78
• Height, m ​​1.10
• Weight, kg 130
• Engine type 1 PD
• Power, hp 1 x 32
• Cruising speed, km/h 140
• Flight duration, h 2
• Practical ceiling, m 3000
• Minimum flight altitude, m 100

“Shmel-1” served as a prototype for the more advanced machine “Pchela-1T”, from which it is practically indistinguishable in appearance.

Bee-1T

Bee-1T- Soviet and Russian reconnaissance UAV. With the help of the complex, operational interaction is carried out with the means of fire destruction of the MLRS “Smerch”, “Grad”, barrel artillery, attack helicopters in conditions of fire and electronic countermeasures.

The launch is carried out using two solid fuel boosters with a short guide located on the tracked chassis of the airborne combat vehicle. Landing is carried out using a parachute with a shock-absorbing inflatable bag that reduces shock overloads. As power plant The Pchela-1 UAV uses a two-stroke two-cylinder internal combustion engine P-032. The Stroy-P complex with the Pchela-1T RPV, created in 1990 by the A.S. Design Bureau. Yakovlev, is designed for round-the-clock observation of objects and transmission of their television or thermal imaging images in real time to a ground control point. In 1997, the complex was adopted by the Armed Forces Russian Federation. Resource: 5 flights.

Specifications

• Wingspan, m: 3.30
• Length, m: 2.80
• Height, m: 1.12
• Weight, kg: 138
• Engine type: piston
• Power, hp: 1 x 32
• Radius of the complex, km: 60
• Flight altitude range above sea level, m: 100-2500
• Flight speed, km/h: 120-180
• RPV take-off weight, kg: up to 138
• Control method:
  • automatic flight according to the program
  • remote manual control
• Error in measuring RPV coordinates:
  • by range, m: no more than 150
  • in azimuth, degrees: no more than 1
• Launch altitude above sea level, m: up to 2,000
• Height range for optimal reconnaissance above the underlying surface, m: 100-1000
• Angular speed of UAV turn, deg/s: not less than 3
• Complex deployment time, min: 20
• Field of view of the TV camera in pitch, degrees: 5 - −65
• Flight duration, hours: 2
• Number of takeoffs and landings (applications for each UAV): 5
• Operating temperature range of the complex, °C: −30 - +50
• Training time for maintenance personnel, hours: 200
• Wind at RPV launch, m/s: no more than 10
• Wind during UAV landing, m/s: no more than 8

Tu-143 "Flight" - reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Designed to conduct tactical reconnaissance in the front-line zone through photo and television reconnaissance of area targets and individual routes, as well as monitoring the radiation situation along the flight route. Part of the VR-3 complex. At the end of the flight, the Tu-143 turned around according to the program and returned back to the landing zone, where, after stopping the engine and the “slide” maneuver, landing was carried out using a parachute-jet system and landing gear.

The use of the complex was tested at the 4th Air Force Combat Use Center. In the 1970-1980s, 950 pieces were produced. In April 2014 Armed forces Ukraine reactivated the drones left over from the USSR and tested them, after which they began combat use on the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

• Modification of Tu-143
• Wingspan, m 2.24
• Length, m 8.06
• Height, m ​​1.545
• Wing area, m2 2.90
• Weight, kg 1230
• Engine type TRD TRZ-117
• Thrust, kgf 1 x 640
• Accelerator SPRD-251
• Maximum speed, km/h
• Cruising speed, km/h 950
• Practical range, km 180
• Flight time, min 13
• Practical ceiling, m 1000
• Minimum flight altitude, m 10

"Skat" is a reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau and JSC Klimov. It was first presented at the MAKS-2007 air show as a full-size mock-up designed to test design and layout solutions.

According to Sergei Korotkov, General Director of RSK MIG, the development of the Skat unmanned attack aerial vehicle has been discontinued. By decision of the Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the results of the corresponding tender, Sukhoi Holding Company was elected as the lead developer of a promising attack UAV. However, the groundwork for Skat will be used in the development of the Sukhoi UAV family, and RSK MIG will take part in this work. The project was suspended due to lack of funding. December 22, 2015 in an interview (Vedomosti newspaper) with general director RSK “MiG” Serey Korotkov was told that work on “Skat” continues. The work is being carried out jointly with TsAGI. The development is financed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

Purpose

• Conducting reconnaissance
• Attacking ground targets with aerial bombs and guided missiles (X-59)
• Destruction of radar systems by missiles (X-31).

Specifications

• Length: 10.25 m
• Wingspan: 11.50 m
• Height: 2.7 m
• Chassis: tricycle
• Maximum take-off weight: 20000 kg
• Engine: 1 × RD-5000B turbofan engine with flat nozzle
• Thrust: afterburning: 1 × 5040 kgf
• Thrust-to-weight ratio: at maximum take-off weight: 0.25 kgf/kg

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed at high altitude: 850 km/h (0.8 M)
• Flight range: 4000 km
• Combat radius: 1200 km
• Service ceiling: 15000 m

Armament

Hardpoints: 4, in internal bomb bays

Suspension options:

2 × Kh-31A air-to-surface

2 × Kh-31P air-to-radar

2 × KAB -250 (250 kg)

2 × KAB-500 (500 kg)

Designed for observation, target designation, fire adjustment, damage assessment. Effective for aerial photography and video shooting at short distances. Produced by the Izhevsk company “ZALA AERO GROUP” under the leadership of Zakharov A.V.

The unmanned aerial vehicle is designed according to the “flying wing” aerodynamic design and consists of a glider with an automatic autopilot control system, controls and power plant, on-board power system, parachute landing system and removable target load units. To ensure that the aircraft does not get lost at late times of the day, miniature LED lights, requiring low energy consumption. ZALA 421-08 is started manually. Landing method - automatically with a parachute.

Characteristics:

• Radius of video/radio channel 15 km / 25 km
• Flight duration 80 min
• UAV wingspan 810 mm
• UAV length 425 mm
• Maximum flight altitude 3600 m
• Launching from the body of a UAV or catapult
• Landing – parachute/net
• Engine type – electric traction
• Speed ​​65-130 km/h
• Maximum take-off weight 2.5 kg
• Target load weight 300 g
• Navigation INS with GPS/GLONASS correction, radio rangefinder
• Target loads Type "08"
• Glider - one-piece wing
• Battery – 10000 mAh 4S
• Maximum permissible wind speed 20 m/s
• Operating temperature range -30°C…+40°C
(5 votes, average: 5,00 out of 5)

Hello!

I want to say right away that it is difficult to believe in this, almost impossible, the stereotype is to blame for everything, but I will try to present this clearly and justify it with specific tests.

My article is intended for people associated with aviation or those who are interested in aviation.

In 2000, an idea arose about the trajectory of a mechanical blade moving in a circle with a turn on its axis. As shown in Fig.1.

And so imagine, the blade (1), (flat rectangular plate, side view) rotating in a circle (3) rotates on its axis (2) in a certain dependence, by 2 degrees of rotation along the circle, 1 degree of rotation on its axis (2) . As a result, we have the trajectory of the blade (1) shown in Fig. 1. Now imagine that the blade is in a fluid, in air or water, with this movement the following happens: moving in one direction (5) around the circle, the blade has maximum resistance to the fluid, and moving in the other direction (4) around the circle, has minimal resistance to fluid.

This is the principle of operation of the propulsion device; all that remains is to invent a mechanism that executes the trajectory of the blade. This is what I did from 2000 to 2013. The mechanism was called VRK, which stands for rotating deployable wing. In this description, wing, blade, and plate have the same meaning.

I created my own workshop and started creating, tried different options, and around 2004-2005 I got the following result.

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I made a simulator to test the lifting force of the lifting rocket, Fig. 2. The VRK is made of three blades, the blades along the inner perimeter have a stretched red raincoat fabric, the purpose of the simulator is to overcome the force of gravity of 4 kg. Fig.3. I attached the steelyard to the VRK shaft. Result Fig.4:

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The simulator easily lifted this load, there was a report on local television, State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Bira, these are stills from this report. Then I added speed and adjusted it to 7 kg, the machine also lifted this load, after that I tried to add more speed, but the mechanism could not stand it. Therefore, I can judge the experiment by this result, although it is not final, but in numbers it looks like this:

The clip shows a simulator for testing the lifting force of a lifting rocket. The horizontal structure is hinged on legs, with a rotary control valve installed on one side and a drive on the other. Drive – el. motor 0.75 kW, electric efficiency engine 0.75%, that is, in fact the engine produces 0.75 * 0.75 = 0.5625 kW, we know that 1 hp = 0.7355 kW.

Before turning on the simulator, I weigh the VRK shaft with a steelyard; the weight is 4 kg. This can be seen from the clip, after the report I changed the gear ratio, added speed and added weight, as a result the simulator lifted 7 kilograms, then when the weight and speed increased, it could not stand it. Let's return to the calculations after the fact, if 0.5625 kW lifts 7 kg, then 1 hp = 0.7355 kW will lift 0.7355 kW/0.5625 kW = 1.3 and 7 * 1.3 = 9.1 kg.

When tested, the VRK propulsion showed a vertical lift force of 9.1 kg/per horsepower. For example, a helicopter has half the lifting force. (I compare the technical characteristics of helicopters, where the maximum take-off weight per engine power is 3.5-4 kg/per 1 hp; for an airplane it is 8 kg/per 1 hp). I would like to note that this is not the final result; for testing, the lifting force must be made in the factory and on a stand with precision instruments to determine the lifting force.

The propeller of the VRK, has technical feasibility, change the direction of the driving force by 360 degrees, this allows you to take off vertically and switch to horizontal movement. In this article I do not dwell on this issue; this is set out in my patents.

Received 2 patents for VRK Fig.5, Fig.6, but today they are not valid for non-payment. But all the information for creating a VRK is not contained in patents.

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Now the most difficult thing is that everyone has a stereotype about existing aircraft, these are airplanes and helicopters (I am not taking examples of jet-powered aircraft or rockets).

VRK - having advantages over the propeller such as higher driving force and a change in direction of movement by 360 degrees, allows you to create completely new aircraft for various purposes that will take off vertically from any site and smoothly transition to horizontal movement.

In terms of complexity of production, aircraft with a propeller-propelled rocket system are no more complicated than a car; the purpose of aircraft can be very different:

• Individual, put it on your back, and flew like a bird;
• Family type of transport, for 4-5 people, Fig. 7;
• Municipal transport: ambulance, police, administration, fire, Ministry of Emergency Situations, etc., Fig. 7;
• Airbuses for peripheral and intercity traffic, Fig. 8;
• An aircraft taking off vertically on a propeller rocket, switching to jet engines, Fig. 9;
• And any aircraft for all kinds of tasks.

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Their appearance and the principle of flight are difficult to perceive. In addition to aircraft, the propeller can be used as a propulsion device for swimming vehicles, but we do not touch on this topic here.

VRK is a whole area that I can’t cope with alone, I would like to hope that this area will be needed in Russia.

Having received the result in 2004-2005, I was inspired and hoped that I would quickly convey my thoughts to the specialists, but until this happened, all the years I have been making new versions of the propeller control system, using different kinematic schemes, but the test result was negative. In 2011, repeated the 2004-2005 version, el. the engine was turned on via an inverter, this ensured smooth start The VRK, however, the VRK mechanism was made from materials available to me according to simplified version, so I can’t give the maximum load, I adjusted it to 2 kg.

I slowly raise the engine speed. engine, as a result the airborne rocket launcher exhibits a silent, smooth takeoff.

Full clip of the latest challenge:

On this optimistic note, I bid you farewell.

Sincerely, Kokhochev Anatoly Alekseevich.