UAVs issue continued by survey of two articles in Russian «Военная мысль» (Military Thought) theoretical periodical, analyzing their development trends and AD means of their destruction.
ВОЕННАЯ МЫСЛЬ 2023 No1
The method used by experts to forecast the global market of military UAVs as a rule is based on the analysis of their classifications, which divide UAVs into groups according to tactical/technical characteristics, but do not take into account their purpose and solved tasks.
In almost all NATO countries, UAVs are usually divided into combat and combat support. Combat UAVs include multi-purpose and strike models, including specialized and single-use drones; combat support UAVs include reconnaissance drones. To analyze the combat capabilities of UAVs and AD means of their destruction, a survey of hierarchical multi-level classification of UAVs by purpose and tasks is proposed. The general classification of UAVs in accordance with their purpose and tasks proposed by the authors, groups the entire set of UAVs into three classes: strategic, operational-tactical, and tactical regarding the intended weapons of their destruction (suppression), and corresponding categories of UAVs — heavy, medium, small, light, related to both the practical ceiling of combat use and the payload weight. This classification is open. In the future, when grouping specific types of UAVs in these classes, it becomes possible to predict the importance of UAVs as targets and substantiate the basic tactical and technical requirements for the range and probability of their destruction.
For other requirements, more detailed information is needed, including the shape and dimensions of the UAV, the design and layout scheme, altitude and speed characteristics, etc., as well as the expected trends of their changes for a given predicted timeframe, allowing to assess the effectiveness of the types of weapons being created to combat UAVs for a long period. The importance of goals in the classification of UAVs under consideration, in accordance with the generally accepted world methodology for designing weapons, is necessary to select weapon options according to the criterion "the ratio of the cost of the object defended from the UAV to the cost of the means (systems) of the object's defense".
The analysis of published papers allows to conclude that the priority direction of the development of UAVs in foreign countries is the creation of multi-purpose (multifunctional) UAVs, carried out on the basis of intelligence and strike vehicles already in service. At the same time, the main trends in the tactical and technical characteristics of multi-purpose UAVs are: to increase the range, altitude and duration of flight without a significant change in take-off weight and dimensions; to increase the mass of the combat load (payload); to ensure low visibility and reduce vulnerability; the expansion of the existing nomenclature and modularity of promising means of reconnaissance and destruction; the use of elements of artificial intelligence and robotics, optimally combined with the autonomy of combat use. As a result, mass-produced UAVs in service by their altitude and speed characteristics occupy an area of airspace previously used only by manned aircraft, and in the near future they claim to enter the niche of fifth-generation aviation.
The analysis of military conflicts of the last decade shows significant changes in the methods of combat use of UAVs toward their group use. For example, the main feature of the use of unmanned aircraft in Nagorno-Karabakh was the use of different types of multi-purpose and attack vehicles under a single control to perform the tasks of searching, clarifying the position of ground targets, including air defense systems, and their immediate destruction. The most effective destruction ratio was demonstrated by the specialized "Harop" attack UAV, which can also have a strong psychological impact on enemy personnel.1
In Azerbaijan’s airspace, in the immediate vicinity of the line of contact of ground groups (from 3 to 50 km), from 6 to 12 groups of UAVs operated around the clock. Each consisted of: one operational-tactical UAV (Elbit Hermes 900, Bayraktar TB2) operating at altitudes from 5000 to 8000m, and from 5 to 10 tactical reconnaissance and strike UAVs (including kamikaze UAVs) operating at altitudes from 100 to 3500 m. Thus, there were from 30 to 120 aircraft in the air at the same time. Such groups can already be considered as a prototype of the future "UAV swarm".2
The armed forces of almost all leading states are developing the tactics of the UAV swarm, which allows the simultaneous use of a large number of reconnaissance and reconnaissance-strike vehicles. This tactic creates new opportunities on the battlefield, allowing to hit effectively all types of targets with minimal losses. The development of technologies for the use of a swarm of UAVs is based on strengthening information exchange between them, reducing their overall parameters, increasing maneuverability and reducing the production costs. These measures provide counteraction to the enemy in detecting and defeating UAVs associated with their small radar cross-section (RCS) (up to and less than 0.01 m2). The group use of UAVs also allows to ensure the required efficiency of tasks.
Given the active spread and use of UAVs, leading foreign states are also developing means to combat them. At the first stage the confrontation with UAVs was traditionally considered by air defense means of destruction (missiles and projectiles) of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). Nowadays foreign experts have realized that direct repel of a massive UAV raid by means of air defense systems is: a. not justified economically due to the use of expensive missiles for a large number of relatively cheap UAVs; b. leads to the rapid exhaustion of the combat resource of the SAMs and their subsequent inability to repel the attack of already manned aircraft, as well as precision-guided cruise missiles. Currently, in foreign states, the main types of UAV-combating weapons are considered: radio-electronic, laser, microwave, acoustic. According to foreign experts, such a set of weapons is associated with the expected composition of the UAV’s main vulnerable elements and components in the short and medium term.
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Published: 08/01/23
Updated 08/01/23ВОЕННАЯ МЫСЛЬ 2023 No1
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEANS FOR UAV’s DESTRUCTION
Georgy LOPIN, Colonel (Ret.), Doctor of Technical Sciences
Gennady SMIRNOV, Colonel (Ret.), Candidate of Technical Sciences
Ilya TKACHEV, Major
The method used by experts to forecast the global market of military UAVs as a rule is based on the analysis of their classifications, which divide UAVs into groups according to tactical/technical characteristics, but do not take into account their purpose and solved tasks.
In almost all NATO countries, UAVs are usually divided into combat and combat support. Combat UAVs include multi-purpose and strike models, including specialized and single-use drones; combat support UAVs include reconnaissance drones. To analyze the combat capabilities of UAVs and AD means of their destruction, a survey of hierarchical multi-level classification of UAVs by purpose and tasks is proposed. The general classification of UAVs in accordance with their purpose and tasks proposed by the authors, groups the entire set of UAVs into three classes: strategic, operational-tactical, and tactical regarding the intended weapons of their destruction (suppression), and corresponding categories of UAVs — heavy, medium, small, light, related to both the practical ceiling of combat use and the payload weight. This classification is open. In the future, when grouping specific types of UAVs in these classes, it becomes possible to predict the importance of UAVs as targets and substantiate the basic tactical and technical requirements for the range and probability of their destruction.
For other requirements, more detailed information is needed, including the shape and dimensions of the UAV, the design and layout scheme, altitude and speed characteristics, etc., as well as the expected trends of their changes for a given predicted timeframe, allowing to assess the effectiveness of the types of weapons being created to combat UAVs for a long period. The importance of goals in the classification of UAVs under consideration, in accordance with the generally accepted world methodology for designing weapons, is necessary to select weapon options according to the criterion "the ratio of the cost of the object defended from the UAV to the cost of the means (systems) of the object's defense".
The analysis of published papers allows to conclude that the priority direction of the development of UAVs in foreign countries is the creation of multi-purpose (multifunctional) UAVs, carried out on the basis of intelligence and strike vehicles already in service. At the same time, the main trends in the tactical and technical characteristics of multi-purpose UAVs are: to increase the range, altitude and duration of flight without a significant change in take-off weight and dimensions; to increase the mass of the combat load (payload); to ensure low visibility and reduce vulnerability; the expansion of the existing nomenclature and modularity of promising means of reconnaissance and destruction; the use of elements of artificial intelligence and robotics, optimally combined with the autonomy of combat use. As a result, mass-produced UAVs in service by their altitude and speed characteristics occupy an area of airspace previously used only by manned aircraft, and in the near future they claim to enter the niche of fifth-generation aviation.
The analysis of military conflicts of the last decade shows significant changes in the methods of combat use of UAVs toward their group use. For example, the main feature of the use of unmanned aircraft in Nagorno-Karabakh was the use of different types of multi-purpose and attack vehicles under a single control to perform the tasks of searching, clarifying the position of ground targets, including air defense systems, and their immediate destruction. The most effective destruction ratio was demonstrated by the specialized "Harop" attack UAV, which can also have a strong psychological impact on enemy personnel.1
In Azerbaijan’s airspace, in the immediate vicinity of the line of contact of ground groups (from 3 to 50 km), from 6 to 12 groups of UAVs operated around the clock. Each consisted of: one operational-tactical UAV (Elbit Hermes 900, Bayraktar TB2) operating at altitudes from 5000 to 8000m, and from 5 to 10 tactical reconnaissance and strike UAVs (including kamikaze UAVs) operating at altitudes from 100 to 3500 m. Thus, there were from 30 to 120 aircraft in the air at the same time. Such groups can already be considered as a prototype of the future "UAV swarm".2
The armed forces of almost all leading states are developing the tactics of the UAV swarm, which allows the simultaneous use of a large number of reconnaissance and reconnaissance-strike vehicles. This tactic creates new opportunities on the battlefield, allowing to hit effectively all types of targets with minimal losses. The development of technologies for the use of a swarm of UAVs is based on strengthening information exchange between them, reducing their overall parameters, increasing maneuverability and reducing the production costs. These measures provide counteraction to the enemy in detecting and defeating UAVs associated with their small radar cross-section (RCS) (up to and less than 0.01 m2). The group use of UAVs also allows to ensure the required efficiency of tasks.
Given the active spread and use of UAVs, leading foreign states are also developing means to combat them. At the first stage the confrontation with UAVs was traditionally considered by air defense means of destruction (missiles and projectiles) of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). Nowadays foreign experts have realized that direct repel of a massive UAV raid by means of air defense systems is: a. not justified economically due to the use of expensive missiles for a large number of relatively cheap UAVs; b. leads to the rapid exhaustion of the combat resource of the SAMs and their subsequent inability to repel the attack of already manned aircraft, as well as precision-guided cruise missiles. Currently, in foreign states, the main types of UAV-combating weapons are considered: radio-electronic, laser, microwave, acoustic. According to foreign experts, such a set of weapons is associated with the expected composition of the UAV’s main vulnerable elements and components in the short and medium term.
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- Макаренко С.И. Противодействие беспилотным летательным аппаратам: монография. СПб.:Наукоемкиетехнологии, 2020. 204 с.
- Там же
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Published: 08/01/23