Modern armies are donning more and more reliable armor. Infantrymen - in body armor, mine fighting vehicles. Tanks bristle with active and passive defenses. Army anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery are becoming self-propelled and armored.
New weapons are being developed to counter the impenetrable armada. But most of them require either constant holding of the targeted object by the illumination beam (ATGM "Chrysanthemum", CS "Kitolov", mine "Gran", etc.), or guidance at the time of target acquisition and firing (ATGM "Javelin"). This allows you to detect and destroy the calculation. To make it as safe as possible, a scheme is proposed that combines the capabilities of micro-UAVs and military means of combating mobile and stationary targets.
The bottom line is the following: microscopic unmanned aerial vehicles for vertical take-off and landing with minimal equipment for control and search for targets are being developed. Their main task is reconnaissance and target designation. Such developments are already underway at DARPA. In our case, the devices should be able to securely fix themselves on the surface of the target, as imperceptibly as possible, due to their size and low noise, and send signals to which the means of destruction of armored vehicles will be guided. It is possible to fire off a beacon from a UAV, to the signal of which the ammunition will be sent, after which the drone returns to the operator who is part of a line unit or is part of a reconnaissance and sabotage group. As for the means of destruction of targets, these are shells of cannon or rocket artillery, aviation ammunition. The only condition is that they have a guidance system for the signal source.
The scheme of operation of the complex is as follows: the operators conduct reconnaissance of objects, having found them, point and land the drone on the target, or shoot a beacon at it. Then the coordinates are reported to the firing position. The indicated square is fired at by ammunition equipped with a signal guidance system. The range is limited by the capabilities of the mini-UAV, today it is within three to five kilometers.
The more compact the drone, the lower the probability of its detection. The weight and dimensions of the power plant and UAV control systems tend to decrease. For example, the DARPA program already includes restrictions: the size of the device should not exceed 15 centimeters in height, length and width.
The advantages of using micro UAVs are obvious. The likelihood of hitting objects with a minimum consumption of ammunition increases sharply. Targets marked with beacons can be fired from closed artillery and mortar positions with guided projectiles.
The effectiveness of this scheme is evidenced by the data of American researchers: in order to hit the conditional strongpoint of a reinforced motorized infantry platoon with infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, weapons and dummies placed in trenches and trenches, it took 2,600 155-mm artillery shells with percussion and timer fuses. At the same time, only about half of the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were disabled. A direct hit from a large-caliber projectile aimed at the beacon is guaranteed to destroy the target. The miniaturization of UAVs when using the proposed scheme makes them more dangerous.