Russia behind the UAV technology curve By David Oliver
The Russian Forpost tactical UAV is a license-built Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Searcher Mk.II. © Russian MoD
Russia is far behind in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology compared to the United States, or even Israel and Turkey. The Soviet Union developed the jet-powered Tu-243 Reis tactical reconnaissance UAV in the 1970s, weighing 1,500 kg on take-off from a self-propelled launcher vehicle. The 8.29 meterlong Reis required a rocket booster to accelerate to the first 550 meters of flight before the turbojet took over. It could accelerate to 875 km/h and climb to 5,000 meters, but it had an endurance of only 13 minutes. A more practical short-range battlefield UAV was the fixed-wing Yakovlev Pchela. Powered by a 32 hp Samara piston engine, the 138 kg UAV had a maximum speed of 180 km/h, a ceiling of 2,500 meters and an endurance of two hours. It was deployed against rebel forces in Chechnya in 1985 and remained in service until 2010.
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ollowing the 2008 military conflict in South Ossetia when Georgian forces used Israeli UAVs, Russia had to rely on Tu-22M3 long-range bomber aircraft for reconnaissance of the enemy. It was then that the Russian military realised the acute need for UAVs although none were being produced in Russia in the post-Soviet era.
Russia’s involvement in the Syrian conflict since 2015 further highlighted the importance of UAV operations for reconnaissance, target designation and monitoring air strikes. Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu admitted that only 180 UAVs were in service in 2011 although this number had risen to 1,720 by 2016. However, the most advanced system in service EDR | July/August 2021
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