• Latest
Russian promising unmanned aerial vehicle "Molniya"

“Attack in a flock”: Russia is working on an unusual weapon

March 7, 2021
Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon women’s singles title

Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon women’s singles title

July 29, 2022
OnlyFans app

OnlyFans has no plans to resume service to Russian creators

July 27, 2022
Tech Giants Are Leaving The Russian Market In Droves And Striking A Blow To The Kremlin’s Economy

Tech Giants Are Leaving The Russian Market In Droves And Striking A Blow To The Kremlin’s Economy

April 2, 2022
Activists launched a website for relatives of servicemen sent to Ukraine

Activists launched a website for relatives of servicemen sent to Ukraine

March 2, 2022
Volunteers in Russia refuse to go to war with Ukraine

Volunteers in Russia refuse to go to war with Ukraine

February 17, 2022
New Opportunities for Youth: Russia to Expand Free Re-Education Program for People Under 35

New Opportunities for Youth: Russia to Expand Free Re-Education Program for People Under 35

February 10, 2022
Alvaris Pearce, a Russian photo model with political ambitions

Alvaris Pearce, a Russian photo model with political ambitions

February 9, 2022
The Kremlin Urged Not to Expect a “Fracture” After the Talks between Putin and Macron

The Kremlin Urged Not to Expect a “Fracture” After the Talks between Putin and Macron

February 7, 2022
Belgian Citizens Begin to Be Issued Passports with Comic Book Figures

Belgian Citizens Begin to Be Issued Passports with Comic Book Figures

February 7, 2022
Working meetings on the results of the St. Petersburg Sports and Patriotic Forum

Working meetings on the results of the St. Petersburg Sports and Patriotic Forum

February 4, 2022
Kremlin Confirms German Chancellor’s Visit to Moscow on February 15

Kremlin Confirms German Chancellor’s Visit to Moscow on February 15

February 4, 2022
Peskov Told About The Negotiations Between Putin and Xi Jinping

Peskov Told About The Negotiations Between Putin and Xi Jinping

February 4, 2022
Media: South Korea Wants to Open Cooperation Office with North Korea in Chinese Border City

Media: South Korea Wants to Open Cooperation Office with North Korea in Chinese Border City

February 4, 2022
Deutsche Welle’s Moscow Bureau Terminated

Deutsche Welle’s Moscow Bureau Terminated

February 4, 2022
Macron Admits Possible Trip to Russia Soon

Macron Admits Possible Trip to Russia Soon

February 3, 2022
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit a News Release
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
  • Login
Russia Daily News
  • Russia
  • Europe
  • Asia & Pacific
  • United States
  • Middle East
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Submit a News Release
No Result
View All Result
Russia Daily News
No Result
View All Result
Home Russia

“Attack in a flock”: Russia is working on an unusual weapon

by Artem Rovniy
March 7, 2021
in Russia
0
Russian promising unmanned aerial vehicle "Molniya"
201
SHARES
1k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterRedditTelegram

Long-range, fast and miniature – as it became known recently, the Russian defense industry is creating a unique strike complex based on jet drones capable of launching from an aircraft. The project, called “Molniya” (Lightning), is being proactively carried out by the company “Kronstadt” – the developer of the reconnaissance and strike drone “Inokhodets”.

Stealth technology

Small-sized attack drones launched from a carrier aircraft will become one of the main trends in global military fashion in the near future. In February, the Pentagon reported on the LongShot project, capable of striking air targets. Similar developments are carried out by many European countries, as well as China.

The advantages of drones over traditional aviation weapons – bombs and missiles – are obvious. The pilots will not have to enter the zone of action of the enemy’s air defense and fighter aircraft – they just need to “shoot” from a safe distance by the drone, which itself will break into the protected airspace, reach the target and successfully hit it.

It is known that Molniya” is implemented in the form-factor of a cruise missile – with an elongated fuselage, a jet engine and a folding wing. The UAV can be used from various carriers – military and military transport aircraft of the Aerospace Forces, from external and internal suspensions, including from the cargo compartments. For example, the fifth generation fighter Su-57 will take on board up to eight such vehicles. In the future, the S-70 Okhotnik strike UAV will also be armed with “Molniya”.

Russian heavy attack unmanned aerial vehicle “Okhotnik” (hunter) and multipurpose fighter Su-57 in pair.

The preliminary tactical and technical characteristics of the new drone are also known. Length – one and a half meters, wingspan – 1.2 meters. The speed is 600-700 kilometers per hour, the warhead and payload are five to seven kilograms. This is quite enough, for example, to destroy a tank with a blow from above on the thin armor of the tower or to hit the infantry in light cover. However, the type of warhead, or ammunition, with which the “Molniya” will be equipped, has not yet been revealed.

The range is several hundred meters. The design will use stealth technologies that reduce radar and thermal signature: a special coating, a flat nozzle, an air intake in the upper part of the fuselage.

Russian attack unmanned aerial vehicle “Orion” with possible weapons
Russian attack unmanned aerial vehicle “Altius” during a test flight

“Swarm of drones”

Drones “Molniya” are designed for group use. The devices will be launched on target in large quantities, from several carriers at once. In flight, they will be able to interact with each other, exchange information. In the West, this is called the “Drone Swarm”. Over time, the US military leadership will implement this principle in all air operations. Even a modern air defense system is extremely difficult to deal with a cloud of small, stealthy and high-speed targets.

It is precisely the suppression of enemy air defense that is one of the main tasks of the “Molniya”. No matter how powerful and developed the air defense system is, the ammunition of anti-aircraft missile systems is limited. And reloading launchers takes a lot of time, during which the air defense systems are defenseless. To effectively break through an air defense system, it is necessary to oversaturate its area of ​​responsibility with a large number of targets. To do this, it is enough to calculate the approximate number of enemy anti-aircraft missiles ready for launch and determine how many attack drones you need to have in the swarm. Part of the UAV will take the strike of the air defense missile system, and part of it will break through to the launchers, radars and destroy them.

General John Murray, head of the US Army Futures Command, said in January that the reaction, physical and mental abilities of a person may not be enough to effectively repel an attack from a swarm of drones. And the operator is hardly able to manage a flock of dozens or even hundreds of devices. The success of the massive use of small-sized high-speed UAVs largely depends on artificial intelligence “wired” in their “brains”. Such drones must independently detect the enemy, distribute tasks among themselves and enter the target from several directions at once.

It is precisely the suppression of enemy air defense that is one of the main tasks of the “Lightning”. No matter how powerful and developed the air defense system is, the ammunition of anti-aircraft missile systems is limited. And reloading launchers takes a lot of time, during which the air defense systems are defenseless. To effectively break through an air defense system, it is necessary to oversaturate its area of ​​responsibility with a large number of targets. To do this, it is enough to calculate the approximate number of enemy anti-aircraft missiles ready for launch and determine how many attack drones you need to have in the swarm. Part of the UAV will take the strike of the air defense missile system, and part of it will break through to the launchers, radars and destroy them.

General John Murray, head of the US Army Futures Command, said in January that the reaction, physical and mental abilities of a person may not be enough to effectively repel an attack from a swarm of drones. And the operator is hardly able to manage a flock of dozens or even hundreds of devices. The success of the massive use of small-sized high-speed UAVs largely depends on artificial intelligence “wired” in their “brains”. Such drones must independently detect the enemy, distribute tasks among themselves and enter the target from several directions at once.

In particular, in the United States, back in October 2016, a swarm of microdrones from 103 3D-printed Perdix devices was successfully tested – no larger than a crow. Acting practically without human participation, after take-off, the UAVs independently lined up in battle formations and distributed over the range so as to completely cover it with observation equipment.

While Perdix drones exist only in reconnaissance version, however, the Pentagon does not exclude the possibility of their modification to the level of loitering ammunition. In this case, the US Air Force will receive a formidable weapon, the main advantages of which are cheapness and ease of production.

Modern concept

According to a RIA Novosti source in the defense industry, the Molniya drones, in addition to strike functions, will take on the role of scouts, be able to issue target designation, and conduct group electronic warfare together with manned aircraft. The designers were tasked with creating not only workable UAVs, but also a wide range of payloads.

The concept of the simultaneous use of drones for various purposes in conjunction with manned aircraft also came from the United States. DARPA’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been involved in the global Mosaic Warfare program since 2017. As an example, the head of the DARPA strategic technology office, Timothy Grayson, cited a single battle formation of four drones with a manned fighter. One drone jamming enemy radars, the second carries weapons, the third is looking for targets, the fourth is a decoy for air defense. The number of drones, their configuration, equipment and weapons can be changed depending on the combat mission.

The concept of “mosaic war” requires a lot of inexpensive highly specialized drones, which, due to the number, will overload any air defense system. The losses of such drones are easy to make up for, and Air Force pilots will not have to risk their lives by being exposed to anti-aircraft missile systems.

The approximate cost of one “Molniya” UAV is still unknown. However, it is obvious that these drones should not be more expensive than “traditional” guided means of aviation destruction – only in this case it will be possible to count on their massive use in combat operations.

Share80Tweet50ShareShare
Previous Post

Russia withdraws from agreement with US on the disposal of weapons-grade uranium

Next Post

Austria suspended vaccination with a batch of AstraZeneca

Next Post
Austria suspended vaccination with a batch of AstraZeneca

Austria suspended vaccination with a batch of AstraZeneca

Discussion about this post

Plugin Install : Widget Tab Post needs JNews - View Counter to be installed
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Active phased antenna array based on radio photonics - ROFAR

Russia completes tests of a photonic radar to search for stealth targets

August 29, 2020
Vladimir Putin said that the palace in Gelendzhik, which Alexei Navalny showed in his film, does not belong to him.

Putin commented on Navalny’s film about the palace in Gelendzhik

January 25, 2021
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova

The video for the song of Maria Zakharova scored 18 million views on YouTube (VIDEO)

October 30, 2021
OnlyFans app

OnlyFans has no plans to resume service to Russian creators

July 27, 2022
Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon women’s singles title

Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon women’s singles title

July 29, 2022
OnlyFans app

OnlyFans has no plans to resume service to Russian creators

July 27, 2022
Tech Giants Are Leaving The Russian Market In Droves And Striking A Blow To The Kremlin’s Economy

Tech Giants Are Leaving The Russian Market In Droves And Striking A Blow To The Kremlin’s Economy

April 2, 2022
Activists launched a website for relatives of servicemen sent to Ukraine

Activists launched a website for relatives of servicemen sent to Ukraine

March 2, 2022
Russia Daily News

Copyright © 2020 Russia Daily News.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit a News Release

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Russia
  • Asia & Pacific
  • United States
  • Middle East
  • Africa
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • Opinion
  • Submit a News Release

Copyright © 2020 Russia Daily News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT