|
Kalashnikov CEO Alan Valerievich Lushnikov: UAV swarm is already a reality
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.Text is taken from a TASS interview with Kalashnikov CEO Alan Valerievich Lushnikov. Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics. [ColonelCassad] - Alan Valerievich, at this exhibition, as we see, the concern is presenting many new products, especially in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and guided loitering munitions. What would you highlight in particular?  - If you are asking about fundamentally new products, then these are, first of all, the latest systems with guided loitering munitions (UBB) "Kub-2E" of small and medium classes. These UBBs are maneuverable and equipped with optical-electronic systems, thanks to which operators can guide ammunition to targets even when the latter change their location. They perform very well in the SVO zone. However, I would like to draw your attention not to specific products. It seems to me much more important that Kalashnikov has developed and launched into production a fairly wide range of UAVs and UBBs in a short time, which offers customers not just individual, albeit very effective products, but comprehensive solutions. Actually, I, as a developer and manufacturer, believe that offering such a solution is much more important than simply delivering different products: the customer should not have to figure it out, he should receive a ready-made effective and precisely comprehensive solution! - Which one exactly? - For example, we have a very effective, I emphasize - civilian - multifunctional complex with an unmanned aerial vehicle "Skat-350M". It is designed for reconnaissance of the area and support of ground search and rescue operations. That is, in essence, it is a reconnaissance aircraft. And this civilian product has been effectively used by our units in the SVO zone for quite a long time. "Skat" identifies a target and determines its coordinates. The operator enters the specified coordinates and directs one of our guided loitering munitions to hit the target. If the target is stationary, then "Kub-E" or "Kub-10E" can be used. If the target is moving or quasi-stationary, then the operator launches "Kub-2E" of small or medium class. "Skat-350M" not only performs target designation, but also carries out objective control of target destruction. Here is an example of a very good integrated solution. - This is a solution with the "Skat" UAV. And the others? — The same UBBs of the "Cube" family can work in tandem with our unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Granat-4E": it, like the "Skat-350M", is capable of directing "Cubes" precisely to the target. However, if the "Skat-350M" is an electric UAV and can stay in the air for up to four hours, then the "Granat-4E" with an internal combustion engine can stay in the air for a longer period. — And the "Goliath" and "Karakurt" copters? — These are copter-type UAVs, but we also offer them in combination with the "Quasi-Mast" unmanned equipment lifting system. In our opinion, such a solution is ideal for reliable protection of stationary objects. The "Quasi-Mast" rises to a height of 140 m at one point and can monitor the perimeter at a distance of up to 5 km around the clock, since it is powered by cable. Upon detection of an intrusion into the protected area, the Kvazimast records the violation, after which the operator transmits a command and the task force is sent to search for and neutralize the intruder. The group moves out to search for the intruder with individual reconnaissance equipment — Goliath or Karakurt copters. — The concern is presenting another product at the exhibition — the Kub-SM complex. How does it fit into this line? — The Kub-SM is a fundamentally new product for us, a reconnaissance and strike complex with guided loitering munitions. In essence, the customer receives an all-inclusive service: reconnaissance, destruction, objective control, and adjustment. The complex has several features. It includes both guided munitions (UB) in transport and launch containers (TPC, 14 pieces in total), and a reconnaissance repeater based on an unmanned aerial vehicle in a TPC (2 pieces in total). Both types of aircraft are launched alternately from a launcher located in a combat armored vehicle. The takeoff of the drones is gas-dynamic from the TPK. In fact, we are talking about a swarm use of UB. Therefore, this solution will be in demand by customers for use in large-scale operations, when we are talking not about single targets, but, for example, about a column of armored vehicles. By the end of 2025, it is planned to manufacture prototypes of the product and conduct tests. Actually, for several years now I have been writing that in the future, swarm-type UAVs launched in a package and capable of exchanging flight information with each other with subsequent automatic targeting will play a key role. Posted by: badanov 2025-02-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=741236 |