Lavochkin's drones
In 1950, the design bureau No. 301, headed by S. A. Lavochkin, was instructed to develop the product "203". The direct customer was the Air Force, because they needed a "training manual" for the pilots - the target aircraft. The device was supposed to be disposable and, as a result, as cheap as possible. As a result, the designers have created a radio-controlled aircraft with a straight wing and horizontal tail, as well as a straight keel (all for ease of manufacture and low cost). As a power plant, a gasoline ramjet engine RD-800 was chosen. Due to its 80 cm diameter, it was placed in a nacelle under the fuselage. In case the pilot cannot shoot down the target, a parachute landing system was provided in its design. The autopilot and radio control were powered by a generator in the nose of the fuselage, on the axis of which the impeller was located. As a result, the target turned out to be very simple to manufacture and quite cheap. Interestingly, the "203" did not have a fuel pump - instead, a compressed air cylinder supplied gasoline to the engine. The launch of the target was initially planned to be carried out from the Tu-2 aircraft (the attachment truss was located on the upper part of the fuselage), but this was unsafe. Therefore, the Tu-4 became the carrier, which, among other things, could lift two targets into the air at once. But I had to tinker with the landing system - as it was not finalized, the target did not want to descend normally by parachute. As a result, it was decided to land the aircraft, which received the La-17 index in the design bureau, "on its belly": at low altitude the aircraft switched to parachuting and landed directly on the engine.
Tests have shown that this method of landing has the right to life, but the engine will receive damage that is incompatible with further operation. However, in 1963, the La-17 was put into service, and the "injuries" on landing caused almost no problems to anyone - most of the pilots had enough marks so that the target would not survive until its second flight. In 1956, tests of the La-17M began. The new version of the target had a new engine, long range and ground launch capability.
Six years after the start of work on "203" OKB-301 received a task to develop an unmanned tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The La-17M was proposed as a basis by a government decree. Structurally, "203-FR" (code from a government decree) did not differ much from the prototype target. In the nose of the fuselage, a swinging installation was installed under the AFA-BAF-40R aerial camera with the possibility of its further replacement with a newer one. "203-FR", according to the initial project, was to be disconnected from the Tu-4 carrier at altitudes of about seven kilometers and fly automatically over enemy positions. The estimated range at this stage of the design was determined at 170 km. If necessary, it could be slightly increased - for this, the flight program had to be calculated taking into account the engine shutdown at a distance from the launch point and subsequent planning (over 50 km from an altitude of 7 km). In 1958, the requirements for "203-FR" were changed: the range of action was not less than 100 km, and the speed had to exceed 800 km / h. The project was finalized for a new mission and renamed La-17RB.
Around the same time, a ground-based reconnaissance launcher was created. At the end of the 60th, the customer's requirements changed again, but now the main update in them concerned reusable use, although the project received a new code "204". Now the name La-17R was assigned to the scout. The turbojet RD-9BK was chosen as the engine of the next version of the drone, and the takeoff was carried out using two solid-propellant boosters. The composition of the onboard equipment also changed: the autopilot and camera were updated, and in addition to the latter, a low-altitude aerial camera was introduced. For the convenience of transporting the scout on a transport-launcher, the wing was made foldable. As a result, during the tests, the following tactical and technical characteristics of the reconnaissance were found: at a flight speed of 700-800 km / h, it had a range of 50-60 km and 200 km at an altitude of 900 and 7000 meters, respectively. The scout made the landing by parachute. The performance of the UAV suited the customer, and in 1963 the La-17R went into production. The device was in service for about ten years, but its practical use was limited to only a few exercises. He was not able to participate in the battle.
Not a scout and not a target of designer Mikoyan
Even now, many years after the start of work on drones, almost all such devices perform only two functions: either they conduct reconnaissance, or strike at ground targets. However, there were exceptions, albeit too rare to "make the weather." In the middle of 1958, OKB-155, headed by A. I. Mikoyan, was tasked with developing an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of accelerating to 4500-4700 km / h, climbing to an altitude of 30 km and having a flight range of 1600 kilometers. The tactical niche that the P-500 project was supposed to occupy was revolutionary new - the interceptor. Actually, the S-500 intercept complex, in addition to the unmanned interceptor, was supposed to have several detection and guidance radars, as well as launch complexes with the R-500. In 1960, the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau presented a draft design.
Scheme of the S-500 self-propelled launcher with the R-500 interceptor missile. Diagram from the book "History of Aircraft Structures in the USSR. 1951-1965"
Externally, the R-500 looked like an airplane - a high-winged with a delta wing and an all-moving tail unit. Moreover, the stabilizers, in addition to the elevator function, were used to control the roll at high speeds. One RD-085 ramjet engine was located in the nacelle under the rear fuselage, and two launch boosters, dropped after takeoff and acceleration to 2M, were located under the wing. The project was arranged by the customer, but … In 1961, the work was stopped. By this time, the potential enemy did not have hypersonic bombers or cruise missiles with which the R-500 could fight. And in the future, those were not foreseen, moreover, they did not appear even after 50 years.
The R-500 was not the only work of the Mikoyan Design Bureau in the UAV field. Only the rest of his developments can hardly be called drones in the full sense of the word - these were the KS-1 cruise missile and its modifications, as well as radio-controlled targets based on the MiG-15, MiG-19, etc.
"Insects" KB Yakovlev
In the early 80s in the design bureau A. S. Yakovlev received a solid amount of information regarding the operation of their UAVs by Israeli troops during the latest wars at that time. Taking into account the existing developments and "trophy" information, the engineers created the first version of the "Bee" drone. This device could perform tasks of tactical television reconnaissance, work as a radio signal repeater or use electronic warfare. During the tests of an experimental batch of these UAVs, all the pros and cons of the design became clear, after which, by the 90th year, they carried out a serious modernization. The updated drone was named Pchela-1T. Together with the Research Institute "Kulon" we have developed a complex of ground equipment, which consists of an armored launch vehicle with a guide, an antenna control and a tracking radar, a transport-loading vehicle carrying 10 "Bees" and a command and control vehicle. The entire reconnaissance complex was named "Stroy-P". Since the end of the 80s of the last century, unpleasant times have come for our defense industry, to put it mildly. They also affected the fate of the "Bee" - the complex, completed in the 90th year, was adopted only seven years later. It was reported that in 1995 and 1999 "Bee" took part in the first and second Chechen wars. Complex "Stroy-P" has proven itself well, however, due to the scarcity of funding, by the beginning of 2000 the last of the used complexes had exhausted its resource. Nothing more is known about the use of "Bees" and there is every reason to believe that they were no longer used.
The design of the drone itself looks like this: a high-winged plane with a straight wing. To facilitate transportation, it folds by turning around a vertical axis and lies along the fuselage. The propeller group is located in the aft fuselage and consists of a P-032 two-stroke piston engine (32 hp) and a propeller enclosed in an annular channel. It is interesting that the latter is used not only as a means of optimizing the operation of the propeller, but also as an elevator and rudder. A rotary module with a television camera or other target equipment is located in the nose of the fuselage. The radio control system and the autopilot are located in the middle of the "Pchela". The drone takes off with a guide placed on the launch vehicle using two boosters. The flight is carried out either by the operator's commands, or by the program previously entered into the automatic memory. At a cruising speed of about 150 km / h and altitudes up to 3000 m "Pchela-1T" can stay in the air for about two hours, and the range of the complex is 60 km (a number of sources mention that this limitation was made "through the fault" of electronics). The drone is landed with a parachute, and the impact on the surface is compensated for by four air-cushioned struts. The payload of the "Bee" consists of a television camera or thermal imager. Replacing the corresponding module is done by calculation in a few minutes. One drone can be used up to five times after which it must be sent for repair or disposal. It is also possible to use "Pchela-1T" as a radio-controlled target for training anti-aircraft gunners. In this configuration, instead of the camera module, a set of radio equipment is installed - a transponder, reflectors, etc., and tracers are mounted in the aft fuselage, simulating the target's jet exhaust.
In 1985, the Yakovlev Design Bureau began work on the Bumblebee-1 UAV. It differed from the then "Bee" by a slightly larger size and weight. By the end of the decade, in the course of fine-tuning both projects, it was decided to continue working only on "Bee" and to apply all the developments on "Bumblebee" in it.
Rotary-wing drones "Ka"
Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the unmanned theme was taken up by the design bureau named after I. N. I. Kamov. In collaboration with the South Korean company DHI, it has created the Ka-37 unmanned helicopter. The device with two coaxial propellers and two piston engines was developed as a multipurpose UAV. Any load of appropriate dimensions and mass can be fixed in the helicopter fuselage: a television camera, radiation monitoring equipment or any kind of cargo, for example, equipment or medicines. The range of the drone does not exceed 20-22 km. The flight can be carried out automatically, by operator commands or in mixed mode. The operator controls the helicopter by radio channel from the remote control. The helicopter and the remote control can be packed in a special shipping container that can be transported by car.
In 1999, the Ka-137 helicopter from the MBVK-137 multifunctional complex took off for the first time. The complex was developed in three versions: ground, airborne and shipborne. In the first case, up to five drones and the control system are transported on a specially equipped truck, in the second, the console is located on a helicopter, and in the third, on the corresponding vessel. The flight is generally similar to the Ka-37 - automatically, by command or in joint mode. Of particular interest is the design of the Ka-137. To reduce the influence of wind on the helicopter, its fuselage was made spherical, which gave the structure an original appearance. Structurally, the Ka-137 is divided into two hemispheres. The upper part houses the entire propeller group with a German-made piston engine Hirht 2706 R05 (65 hp), the lower one contains the payload. The fixtures of the latter are placed symmetrically about the vertical axis of the apparatus, which also adds stability and facilitates control. The maximum payload weight is 80 kg. The dimensions are limited only by the dimensions of the lower hemisphere, however, if necessary, the helicopter can be operated without it. Above the fuselage sphere with a diameter of about 1.75 m are two 530 cm coaxial propellers. Four composite landing gears are placed on the sides of the fuselage and are attached directly to the power pack. Control equipment, placed on a car, helicopter or ship, allows you to use two drones at the same time.
The twenty-first century begins …
Despite the obvious successes of the domestic industry in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, the interest in them from potential customers was still clearly insufficient. Only in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century did the situation begin to change. Perhaps the reason for this was the successful experience of using various UAVs in recent NATO operations. Security officials and rescuers have become more and more interested in drones and, as a result, in recent years there has been a real boom in the construction of this class of equipment. There are already dozens of UAV types, so now we will briefly go through the most notable of them.
In 2007, information appeared that the Tupolev firm was resuming work on the Tu-300 Korshun project. It made its first flight back in 1991, but the economic situation of that decade forced it to freeze the program. According to the initial concept, the three-ton drone was supposed to carry out photo-, television- or radio-technical reconnaissance within a radius of 150-170 km from the launch point. The cruising speed of the "Korshun", in turn, was at the level of the previous scouts of the "Tu" brand - about 950 km / h. Target reconnaissance equipment was located in the bow of the spindle-shaped fuselage. The wing of the drone is triangular, located in the tail of the aircraft (the UAV itself is made according to the "duck" scheme). The air intake of the turbojet engine, as before, is located under the keel. At some air shows, a mock-up of the Tu-300 with a KMGU container suspended under the fuselage was demonstrated, which was perceived by the aviation community as a hint of a possible shock use of the apparatus.
Also in 2007, at the MAKS exhibition, a mock-up of a MiG strike UAV called Skat was shown. A flying wing with a maximum takeoff weight of about 10 tons should accelerate to 800-850 km / h and have a range of about 4000 km. Judging by the appearance of the layout, the power plant of the drone consists of one turbojet engine with a frontal air intake. As for armament and avionics, nothing is known on this score yet, although dummies of bombs and missiles were demonstrated next to the Skat at MAKS-2007. The situation is similar with the timing of the project.
In addition to the old design bureaus, young firms are also engaged in the creation of UAVs. One of them is CJSC Aerocon, which produces drones of the Inspector series. This line includes both the “flying wing” type and the classic design. Also, Aerokon's products have various sizes and take-off weights - from 250 grams and 30 cm of Inspector-101's wingspan to 120 kg and 520 cm of Inspector-601. Although these devices are positioned as multipurpose, they are mainly used for photo or telecontrol.
Another company, relatively recently engaged in the topic of UAVs, is the Irkut corporation. Their drones are also adapted for surveying and similar operations. Irkut's product list includes both small radio-controlled vehicles and the Irkut-850 motor glider, which can be used in an unmanned or manned configuration. UAVs "Irkut" are supplied to several countries of the world, as well as to domestic power structures, including the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Investigative Committee.
ZALA is a line of UAVs manufactured by the Izhevsk company "Unmanned Systems". Unlike the previous two companies, ZALA is not only airplanes, but also helicopters. By design, the Izhevsk drones are similar to the Irkuts and Inspectors. The Russian Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are showing interest in ZALA.
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It is already clear that unmanned aerial vehicles have a great future. Sometimes it is even argued that they will completely replace manned aircraft. At the same time, the UAVs have a number of problems that do not yet allow them to fully perform some of the tasks of "big" aviation. But, at the same time, drones also have advantages. So, for example, the apparatus hanging over the battlefield is difficult to detect and destroy with existing means. And in the field of rescue operations, UAVs in some cases, such as the detection of missing people, etc., are even more effective than manned vehicles. Thus, no one will oust anyone in the near future, but different classes of equipment will complement each other.
