Strictly speaking, the topic of unmanned aircraft is not at all new for our country. Cruise missiles in the USSR were engaged immediately after the Great Patriotic War (with the copying of the "flying motorcycle" FAU-1), and now we occupy a leading position in this area in the world. And what is a cruise missile if not an unmanned aircraft? In the USSR, the space shuttle Buran was built, which, long before the Boeing X-37 flew into orbit in an unmanned mode, and returned.
Reactive and disposable
Domestic UAVs with reconnaissance functions also have a long history. In the mid-1960s, combat units began to receive tactical unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (TBR-1) and long-range unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (DBR-1), which became the development of unmanned target aircraft. It was a serious aircraft not at all compact in size. The TBR weighed almost three tons, could fly at altitudes up to 9000 m at speeds up to 900 km / h, for which it was equipped with a turbojet engine. The goal is photographic reconnaissance with a flight range of 570 km. The launch was carried out from the guides at an angle of 20 degrees to the horizon, and powder accelerators were used for acceleration. DBR-1 did fly supersonic (up to 2800 km / h) and had a range of up to 3600 km. Takeoff weight - over 35 tons! With all this, reconnaissance UAVs of the first generation had an unimportant accuracy of approach to a given object, and these devices - heavy, turbojets - were … disposable, and therefore their use turned out to be an overhead.
UAV "Granat-4" The most "long-range" device in the "Gunner-2" complex. It is equipped with a gasoline engine, and the body is made of composite materials. The weight of the device is about 30 kg, the range is about 100 km.
In the mid-1970s, the VR-3 unmanned reconnaissance complex, based on the Reis turbojet UAV, entered service with the Soviet army. It was already a reusable system designed to conduct aerial reconnaissance of objects and terrain in tactical depth in the interests of ground forces and strike aviation. The aircraft was lighter than its one-time predecessors - the take-off weight was 1410 kg, it had a cruising speed of up to 950 km / h and a technical flight range of 170 km. It is easy to calculate that even with a full refueling, the flight of the Reis could last no more than ten minutes. The device is capable of conducting photo, television and radiation reconnaissance with data transmission to the command post in almost real time. UAV landing was carried out at the command of the on-board automatic control system. It is worth noting that "Reis" is still in service with the Ukrainian army and was used in the so-called ATO.
In the 1980s, the third generation of UAVs began to develop in the world - light, inexpensive remotely controlled vehicles with reconnaissance functions. It cannot be said that the USSR remained aloof from this process. Work on the creation of the first domestic mini-RPV was started in 1982 at the Kulon Research Institute. By 1983, a reusable RPV "Pchela-1M" (complex "Stroy-PM") was developed and flight tested, designed for television reconnaissance and jamming of communications equipment operating in the VHF range. But then perestroika began, followed by the 90s, which were lost for the development of domestic unmanned aircraft. By the beginning of the new millennium, old Soviet developments were morally obsolete. I had to urgently chase after.
In the simulator class, the servicemen undergoing training at the Kolomna Center are mastering the control of the UAV so far in the virtual space. Only after being trained on the simulator, the operator is allowed to control the real apparatus. Such training can take from 2, 5 to 4 months.
For real aviators
In the old Russian city of Kolomna, next to the museum-factory of the famous apple marshmallow, the State Center for Unmanned Aviation of the Moscow Region is located. It is, as it is now customary to say, the main Russian center of competence for training and retraining of technicians and operators who control military UAVs. The predecessor of the center was the Interspecies Center for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, a structure that has existed for three decades under different names and with different locations. But right now, the UAVs have come into the sphere of special attention of the country's military leadership. This is evidenced by at least the fact that the military town inherited by the Center (it used to belong to the Kolomna Artillery School, created under Alexander I) is being actively rebuilt and equipped. Some of the buildings will be demolished (others will be built instead), some will be overhauled. A new club and stadium will be built on the territory of the unit. All unmanned vehicles supplied to the troops pass through the Center, the specialists of the Center study it in detail, and then transfer their knowledge to cadets who come to Kolomna from all over the country.
To work with UAVs (at least with those accepted for supply in our Armed Forces), the efforts of three specialists are required. Firstly, it is the operator of the vehicle control - he sets the flight course, altitude, and maneuvers. Secondly, it is a target load control operator - his task is to directly conduct reconnaissance using certain sensor units (video / IR / radio intelligence). Thirdly, it prepares the UAV for flight and launches an unmanned vehicle technician. Training of all these three categories of military personnel is conducted within the walls of the Center. And if the technician's place is always next to the "hardware", then the operators are initially trained in classrooms behind the displays of simulators. It is interesting that the operator of the vehicle itself changes the course of the UAV, drawing lines on an electronic map of the area, while the operator of the target load receives the picture from the camera in real time.
BirdEye 400 ("Zastava") is intended for reconnaissance of targets, adjustment of fire, detection of crash sites of other UAVs. The radius of action is 10 km. Flight duration - 1 hour. Takeoff weight - 5.5 kg.
Unlike the US Army, where flight simulator gamers have recently begun to be invited to UAV operators, our Armed Forces still retain a conservative approach. Gamers, according to the Center, do not have the experience of communicating with the real elements that real pilots have, who have a very substantive idea of the aircraft's behavior in unfavorable weather conditions. We still believe that people with professional aviation training - former pilots and navigators - are more suitable for UAV control. The duration of training at the Center varies from 2, 5 to 4 months and depends on the size, range and functional load of the aircraft.
The BirdEye 400 device is launched using rubber bands. "Bird" with an electric motor quickly soars into the sky and really becomes like a bird. A little more - and the device will disappear from sight
While small forms
The American film "The Good Kill" tells the story of the fate of the UAV operator Reaper - this man, located at a command post in the United States, had to launch rocket attacks on people on the other side of the world. The authorities, whose orders the hero of the film was obliged to carry out, considered these people to be terrorists. The human drama unfolds against the backdrop of very beautifully and effectively shown scenes of distant warfare using shock UAVs. Our servicemen, fortunately or unfortunately, are hardly destined to be in the place of the hero of "Good Murder" in the near future. Prototypes of strike drones in our country are now being actively developed, some of them are already being tested, but it is still a long way from adopting them. The post-perestroika "gap" has thrown Russia in the field of military unmanned aircraft 10-15 years back in comparison with the West, and we are only starting to catch up now. Hence, there is still not a very wide range of UAVs used in our army.
When it became clear that it would not be possible to quickly bring domestic technologies to the minimum modern requirements, our defense industry decided to establish cooperation with one of the world leaders in the development of military UAVs - with Israel. According to an agreement signed in 2010 with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., the Ural Civil Aviation Plant began licensed production of the light wearable BirdEye 400 and SEARCHER medium-class reconnaissance UAV under the names Zastava and Outpost, respectively. "Outpost", by the way, is the only device we have adopted for supply (UAVs are accepted in our Armed Forces "for supply" as ammunition, and not "in service" as military equipment), which takes off and lands like an airplane, that is, from run and run. All others are launched from catapults, and land by parachute. This suggests that so far in our army, UAVs are operated mainly of small size with a small payload and a relatively short range.
In this sense, a set of UAVs from the Navodchik-2 complex is indicative. Here are used four devices under the general name "Garnet" and with indexes from 1 to 4.
UAV - although small, but still aviation. As in large aviation, before the flight, all components and systems are thoroughly prepared for operation. The orange bag in the photo is the shell of a special pillow, which will inflate before landing and soften the impact on the ground.
"Grenades" 1 and 2 are light (2, 4 and 4 kg) portable UAVs with a short range (10 and 15 km) with electric motors. "Granat-3" is a device with a range of up to 25 km, and as a power plant it uses a gasoline engine, as in "Granat-4". The latter has a range of up to 120 km and can carry all sorts of payloads: a photo / video camera, an IR camera, electronic warfare equipment and cellular bearing. The control center "Granat-4", in contrast to the "junior" models, is based in the kunga of the "Ural" army truck. Nevertheless, this UAV, as well as its counterpart in the Orlan-10 class, are launched from metal guides using a rubber harness.
All four Granatas are manufactured by the Russian company Izhmash - Unmanned Systems, which, of course, is a step forward compared to cloning Israeli vehicles. But, as the Center admits, there is still a long way to go to complete import substitution in this area. Such high-tech components as microcircuits or optical systems have to be bought abroad, and our industry has not yet mastered even compact gasoline engines of the required parameters. At the same time, in the field of software, our designers demonstrate the world level. It remains to modify the "hardware".
Dissolved into the sky
Practical exercises in UAV control are held at a training ground located on the outskirts of Kolomna. On the day of visiting the Center, control of light wearable devices - BirdEye 400 (aka "Zastava") and "Granatom-2" was practiced here. Start from a rubber band - and soon the device disappears into the sky. Only then do you understand the main advantage of this class of UAVs - stealth. The operator sitting under the awning does not look at the sky. In front of him is a control panel, which can be conditionally called a "laptop", and all information about the location of the UAV is reflected on the screen. The operator only has to actively work with the stylus. When BirdEye descends to a low altitude and becomes visible, it can be confused with a bird of prey circling in search of prey. Only the speed is clearly greater than the bird's. And here is the landing command - the parachute opens, and the UAV lands, softening the impact on the ground with the help of an inflated airbag.
Most of the UAVs adopted for the supply of the Russian army take off with the help of catapults and land by parachute. An exception is the Forpost UAV (manufactured under license from the Israeli SEARCHER), which requires an airfield for take-off and landing.
Of course, our army needs a longer-range UAV, with a longer range, with a larger payload, and with shock functions. Sooner or later they will join the ranks and will definitely arrive in Kolomna. Here they will be taught to work with them. But so far there is an active study of the available arsenal. The topic of military drones in Russia is clearly on the rise.
