Loitering ammunition is gradually conquering the arms market around the world and is becoming an increasingly widespread and effective weapon. Work on the creation of kamikaze drones, which hit targets with an air attack, is underway in many countries around the world. A modern kamikaze drone is a small aircraft equipped with some explosives. When a target is detected, such a device automatically becomes a homing projectile and strikes a ground target.
In Russia, the Kalashnikov concern is actively working in this direction, having presented its KUB-UAV loitering ammunition last year. Turkey has previously achieved great success in this direction, which recently massively and effectively used new weapons against various military equipment of the Syrian army. Ukrainian companies keep up with the development of such devices. So, in early March 2020, the Ukrainian media reported on the next tests of the Thunder loitering ammunition, for the development of which the specialists of the research and production enterprise Athlon Avia are responsible.
The features of all modern loitering ammunition are ease of production and relatively low cost. The small size of the vehicles allows drones to remain very difficult targets for radar systems of air defense systems, and their massive use poses a great threat to both ground forces and the air defense systems themselves. The main purpose of loitering ammunition is to defeat manpower, ground and surface military equipment, as well as engineering fortifications and individual enemy targets.
"Thunder" in March 2020
The private manufacturer NPP Athlon Avia is one of the main suppliers of unmanned vehicles for the Ukrainian army. Over the past few years, the company has transferred to the Ukrainian military about 300 unmanned aerial vehicles of its own production. One example of a successful development that has been put into service and is actively being used is the multifunctional unmanned aircraft complex A1-CM "Furia", which is used mainly for reconnaissance and adjusting artillery fire. It is known that the company is trying to enter the international market. Athlon Avia has already participated in a tender in Pakistan and is negotiating a possible supply of products to Indonesia.
At the beginning of March 2020, the company conducted regular tests of its new development - the Thunder loitering ammunition. This kamikaze drone is also known as ST-35 (Silent Thunder). The name of the ammunition for potential foreign buyers is fully consistent with the capabilities and characteristics of such devices. According to representatives of the company "Athlon Avia", the new ammunition is quiet, imperceptible, but at the same time formidable. The flight of the loitering munition takes place in a silent mode at an altitude of more than 500 meters. It is very difficult to visually detect a small, fast-moving target from the ground.
The recently carried out tests of the "Thunder" passed on a regular basis. The developers managed to get the automation working, so the launch was fully automatic without human intervention in the process. Also, during the tests, the ammunition confirmed its design flight speed. As noted in the company "Athlon Avia", the launch was the second with the use of a multicopter.
During the tests, the loitering ammunition made the planned rise into the air. At a given altitude, the normal separation of the ammunition from the multicopter took place, the flight itself along the specified route also took place in the normal mode. During the tests, the process of automatic target tracking and imitation of a dive at a detected ground target was tested. After completing the tests, the Thunder loitering ammunition returned to the launch pad, landing with a parachute. Such a landing solution has been implemented only at this stage; the combat version of the device will not be equipped with a parachute.
Characteristics of the loitering ammunition "Thunder"
According to the developers, "Thunder" is a very competitive kamikaze drone with good flight performance. The drone's cruising speed is 120 km / h. It is noted that this speed should provide the device with an approach to the target area at a distance of 30 kilometers in about 15 minutes (data are given for normal meteorological conditions). The total time the loitering ammunition is in the air is no more than 60 minutes. These results were confirmed during the flight tests of the "Thunder".
As noted in the company "Athlon Avia", the loitering ammunition "Thunder" spends about 15-20 minutes on approaching the target, after which it can be in the target area for the same number of minutes. And even with a strong headwind and unfavorable weather conditions, having spent 40 minutes on the flight to the target, the device will still have enough time left to complete its mission.
The declared take-off weight of the loitering ammunition is 10 kg, of which a little more than a third falls on the warhead - 3.5 kg. The manufacturer has already said that Thunder will be equipped with three different types of warheads: thermobaric (the weight of the warhead is indicated for it), high-explosive fragmentation and cumulative. In the future, the developer expects to implement for his kamikaze drone and the possibility of a directed detonation of the warhead.
The effective operating altitude of the Thunder is from 800 to 1200 meters. The declared probability of hitting the target is 0.95. The declared circular deviation is no more than three meters. Calculation of the complex - three people. The complex includes three loitering ammunition that can be carried in conventional tactical backpacks. The deployment time of the entire complex on the ground is no more than 15-20 minutes. Due to its small mass, the complex is distinguished by good mobility, while the calculation may not even use vehicles, moving around the battlefield on foot. At the same time, there is also an option for placing the complex on the basis of an automobile chassis, the choice of options for execution remains with the military.
Features of the "Thunder" design
For their loitering ammunition, Ukrainian designers have chosen a scheme that is standard for many modern missiles with an X-shaped arrangement of wings and rudders. The wing is located approximately in the middle of the fuselage of the ammunition, and in the bow there is an optoelectronic target guidance unit. In the same place, in the bow, there is a warhead. The total length of the ammunition is approximately 300 mm, the width is 90-100 mm. The body of the kamikaze drone is made of modern composite materials (glass and carbon fiber), which provides the product with low weight and good strength characteristics. At the rear of the apparatus is a piston engine with a pushing screw.
The aerodynamic design chosen by the developers is a compromise and meets the solution of two main tasks of the ammunition - it provides high aerodynamic qualities in horizontal flight and good controllability during the targeting and diving phase. According to the specialists of Athlon Avia, the chosen scheme is almost the only possible one, therefore it is used today by other developers of loitering ammunition all over the world. According to the company's engineers, with a classic aerodynamic design, it is not possible to hit a target with a circular probable deviation of 2-3 meters when diving.
A distinctive feature of the Thunder loitering ammunition is its launch model. Initially, Ukrainian designers considered options using a pneumatic or elastic catapult, but they quickly realized that this solution complicates the operation process, increases the launch complexity and the cost of the device itself. Currently, the launch of a loitering munition is carried out using a multicopter (which then performs the function of a repeater). The implemented "Thunder" launch system is a complex solution that effectively solves several problems at once. Firstly, the complex can be launched from any site, even of a very limited size, even from the courtyard of a residential building. Secondly, the weight of the complex is minimized, the loitering ammunition and the launch vehicle are able to carry one soldier. Thirdly, the reliability and ease of use of the complex is growing.
During launch, the multicopter raises the loitering ammunition to a height of about 500 meters, after which the projectile is detached from the copter and continues its independent flight to the specified area. In this case, the multicopter itself rises to a height of about one kilometer and remains in the sky, starting to act as a repeater. The gained height is sufficient to maintain a stable connection with the loitering ammunition at a distance of up to 30-40 kilometers. At this range, the reception of a stable video signal is supported, which allows you to control the process of hitting detected targets.
According to the developers from the company "Athlon Avia", the automatic targeting system on the ST-35 Silent Thunder is implemented via infrared or thermal imaging channel. It is noted that the homing head to the target is variable, depending on the meteorological conditions, the operator of the complex himself will decide which guidance system is best to use at a given time. It is noted that the operator takes part in the destruction of ground or surface objects until the moment the target is identified and confirmed - after the loitering ammunition begins to work autonomously and hits the target in a dive.
Another distinctive feature of the complex is the fact that it was originally created taking into account the fact that navigation using GPS or GLONASS systems in a combat area is often ineffective. Therefore, the loitering ammunition is as independent of GPS positioning as possible. This is especially important when combat missions have to be solved in conditions of active opposition from the enemy's electronic warfare means.
