“Artillery units of the Russian army use the Zala drone to perform reconnaissance missions and improve the accuracy of fire. The drone allows you to detect and destroy the battery of the 155-mm American howitzer M777 in Ukraine, ”says the American weapons portal Army Recognition.
The authors of Army Recognition claim that the RF Armed Forces have allegedly “changed tactics.”
“Previously they used mainly aerial reconnaissance data for guidance, but Zala drones help to calculate more accurately and most importantly, the coordinates of the enemy faster. This greatly increases the effectiveness of artillery and simplifies the aiming of fire at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ”adds Army Recognition.
Zala is not one, but a series of drones. Unmanned mini-planes of projects Zala 421-04, Zala 421-08 and 421-16 have the ability to operate within a radius of 15 to 40 km, stay in the air for up to 2.5 hours and payload 1.5 kg. .
Aircraft type drones Zala 421-20 are larger. Their range is up to 120 km, the flight time is 11 hours, the mass of the target payload up to 50 kg. They can combine various systems on board, including air navigation systems, automatic data decoding and laser target designation.
Drones Zala “Lancet” perform shock functions. These are mobile munitions or kamikaze drones. They can hit targets within a radius of up to 40 km. Maximum take-off weight – 12 kg, runtime – 5 hours.
Finally, Zala 421-02 and Zala 421-02X helicopter type drones can operate for 6 hours at a distance of 50 km and carry a load of 50 kg.
“Originally, these drones were designed for use by the Russian FSB Border Service and the Russian Emergencies Ministry. The Ministry of Defense became interested in these UAVs because of their ability to reconnaissance at a considerable distance and “fly” in the air. At the same time, send a clear signal with the coordinates of the targets. Now such unmanned aerial vehicles are in service with motorized rifle and airborne units involved in a special operation, Sergey Belousov, a member of the College of Military Experts, told Gazeta.ru.
By contrast, retired Air Force Major General Igor Lyutykh, a military expert, noted such a feature of Zala as a “well-encrypted communication channel.”
“For one, these drones are very maneuverable. Second, they have a closed and well-encrypted communication channel. This makes the drone practically invisible to APU radar equipment. Their detection and, accordingly, their destruction are extremely difficult. The Zala drone is virtually untouched by Ukrainian electronic warfare. They don’t see it. Of course, it can be hit while in the line of sight, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot suppress it through electronic warfare, ”says Lyutykh.
The General added that another feature of the Zala family of drones is the simultaneous use of two types of guidance systems: It can be controlled both over a radio channel and can operate fully autonomously.
“This confuses the APU even more. The drone is controlled in manual mode at one point in time, and at another it completely “eliminates” communication with the operator. Thus, even if suddenly the enemy detects it on a signal, it loses it at that moment. And so again And so on forever,” the general explained.
Zala drones were previously used in Syria. In April 2021, the relevant images were published by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Every airborne formation now has reconnaissance aircraft companies.
This is a new direction, but already well tested and proven. Our paratroopers used the Zala UAV during a special operation in Syria and now Ukraine. For several years, the base of the Ryazan Airborne School has been used to train drone operators.
Colonel General Georgy Shpak, former commander of the Air Force, told socialbites.ca that he trains real professionals who can control complex air systems designed for reconnaissance and adjustment of artillery fire.
Source: Gazeta
