Russia to Test Fly First Combat Drone in 2014

whydave

Russia will test fly its first domestically-produced strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in 2014, First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said on Friday.
In February, Army General Nikolay Makarov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, said the drone would be first test flied in late 2012, a revision of the initial 2015 timeframe.
In early April, Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a technical specification for the development of the drone. The new aircraft is expected to have a modular structure and be able to carry various types of equipment and armament.
The Tranzas company will build the UAV's on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems, while the airframe, which will weigh about five tons, will be produced by the Kazan-based Sokol design bureau. Russia’s Defense Ministry sealed contracts with Tranzas and Sokol worth an estimated 3 billion rubles ($101.9 million) in October 2011.
In late March, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, told the Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid that strike drones would enter service before 2020. He did not specify how many drones will be acquired.
The United States has relied heavily on UAVs including the Predator system to carry out missile attacks on insurgents in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.
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All those computer games may turn useful after all !!:D:D

Delancey

I'm a bit surprised the Russians are so far behind the US in drone development.

troposphere

This is from a report from the US Army War College about the Georgian War and some of the steps Russia has taken since.

The lack of reliable UAVs and satellite imagery is what apparently led the Russian air force to send a Tu-22 bomber deep into Georgia on a reconnaissance and targeting mission, where it was shot down by Georgian air defenses.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov, former Chief of the Main Combat Training and Service Directorate, identified the key problems exposed by the war as poor interoperability between the air force and ground forces, poor communications capabilities, and the low resolution of Russian reconnaissance systems, especially UAVs.

Many Russian military and political leaders agreed with Popovkin’s assessment that the Russian defense industry would not be spurred to develop better systems unless it were subjected to competition from foreign firms. In September 2009, Popovkin announced to representatives of Russian defense firms that the Ministry of Defense would purchase equipment abroad if they could not provide it. Later that month the Ministry signed a contract with an Israeli firm for the purchase of UAVs. Given the abysmal performance of the Russian-made Pchela UAV in the war with Georgia Russian commanders said the images it sent were so poor, they were useless and it “flew so low you could hit it with a slingshot and [it] roared like a BTR” it is unsurprising that Russia chose to seek a foreign vendor for this key platform. In September 2010, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Serdyukov, signed the first military cooperation agreement between Russia and Israel. Under the agreement, Israel will provide Russia the UAV and other technology. This decision represents a shift from the long-standing Soviet and Russian practice to source virtually all military equipment from domestic producers. All indications are that purchases of equipment from foreign sources will accelerate. In addition to the UAV purchase from Israel, which could total $300-400 million and which Russia hopes will lead to an agreement to produce UAVs under license on Russian soil

Moscow is planning to buy sophisticated armaments, such as Mistrals or Israeli UAVs, then reverse-engineer them or produce them under license, to force-march its obsolescent military through the 21st century. In a new appropriations and acquisition policy, and in a break from past practices when all military systems were built at home, Moscow wants to “buy one, build three” Mistrals under the French license.

Tenger

Delancey wrote: »

I'm a bit surprised the Russians are so far behind the US in drone development.

I'm with you on this.

I had however read elsewhere about the Russian's buying up to 4 Mistral LHD's from France. Easier to get an off the shelf hull design and install your own equipment I suppose. The Russian dock yards have lost a lot of expertise over the last 20 years.

whydave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU

andy_g

Damn you Dave i have seen this three times now lol.

Whydave why?!!!!