“Rostec is carefully studying the existing experience and is ready to consider the possibility of creating mini-drones that meet the requirements of the military,” the state company said. It is stated that mini-drones can “significantly increase the effectiveness of combat units.”
“special ops [России на Украине] demonstrated the importance of not only large and medium drones, but also miniature drones. Such drones are virtually invisible, literally fit in your pocket, allowing you to set fire, receive and monitor intelligence in real time, ”the government agency said in a press release.
In 2016, the Rostec company reported on tests of mini-drones developed by United Instrument-Making Corporation, whose dimensions were “comparable to a dragonfly”. It was noted that the Russian mini-helicopter is an analogue of the Norwegian Black Hornet unmanned aerial vehicle (“Black Hornet”). This device, which weighs 16 grams, is used by the American and British special forces. After that, there were no reports of Russian mini-drones in open sources.
In July 2020, it was reported that Syrian military personnel hijacked a US Army Black Hornet helicopter. Despite its small size and weight, the drone is equipped with two full-featured daytime video cameras and a thermal imager, according to the American edition of The Drive.
“Operating at night, the system combines feeds from three cameras to provide a single high-quality view that makes it easy for operators to identify potential threats and other objects of interest,” Drive said.
Experts interviewed by socialbites.ca believe that such drones cannot be used as shock drones.
“Developments in the field of mini-drone creation have been around for a long time. Such devices have certain prospects, but there are also limitations in their use. It is quite difficult to use them as purely combat aircraft, because a small drone, for example, cannot carry a large explosive charge. “Accordingly, it cannot cause significant damage,” said Roman Gusarov, editor-in-chief of the Avia.ru portal.
He added that at the moment mini-drones are only promising as scouts, but even here their capabilities are limited.
“Because the drone is small, it can be used quite locally as its operating time and flight range will be limited – it is impossible to put a powerful transmitter in a small drone to fly long distances. Such a drone can be used, for example, in the case of a building occupied by terrorists. In such a situation , an inconspicuous robot can reconnaissance – fly to the window, assess the situation inside. But there is no idea yet how these drones will be used during large-scale conflicts. Therefore, while invisible in Ukraine. An example of the use of Black Hornet drones in Syria “It is an attempt to test such devices in real conditions and understand their prospects,” he said.
Oleg Panteleev, managing director of the Avia.Pro portal, also believes that mini-drones cannot be used during “combat operations in the usual order”. “For military operations, such small drones do not matter, when many tasks are solved by other forces and vehicles – artillery strikes or the use of armored vehicles,” Panteleev said.
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of Robotics and Mechatronics at Moscow State Technological University “STANKIN” Eduard Mikhaylin, in turn, believes that the use of small drones “will be an ideal solution for a number of non-standard military tasks.”
“There is a task to solve the problem with Azovstal. How can I tell who and how many people are there? Is there only the Azov and Ukrainian Armed Forces or are there still civilians? This problem cannot be solved through space and visual exploration, and mini-drones easily collect such information and help our army destroy Azov. We knew exactly how many people were there and who they were. The Azovstal siege is an ideal site for mini-drones,” says Mikhailin.
Source: Gazeta
