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.

Following 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

was the Forpost, a license-built Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Searcher Mk.II multi-mission tactical fixed-wing UAV. The 436 kg Forpost can carry a 120 kg payload of Russian manufactured electro-optical sensors. It has a maximum speed of 204 km/h, a ceiling of 7,000 meters and an endurance of 18 hours. Russia also builds the IAI BirdEye 400 mini UAV dubbed the Zastava.

Other Russian UAVs deployed over Syria include the fixed-wing Granat-4 tactical UAV which has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 30 kg, a payload weight of 3 kg, a cruising speed of 90 km/h, an operational range of up to 70 km and a service ceiling of 3,500 meters. Izhmash Unmanned Systems is the designer and manufacturer of the Granat-4 and has been developing and supplying UAVs to the Russian Armed Forces since 2007 and is now part of the Kalashnikov Concern.

A company with a similar history is ENICS which has been producing the Eleron, a tactical miniUAV since 2008. The tailless delta Eleron 3 has a wingspan of 1.47 meters, a launch weight of 5.3 kg and can carry a one kilogram payload. The larger Eleron -10 has a wingspan of 2.2 meters, a 12 kg launch weight and a 4.5 kg payload. Another ‘flying wing’ design mini-UAV is the two-meter wingspan Tachyon that weighs 25 kg with a 5 kg payload. Powered by an electric motor, it has a maximum speed of 120 km/h and a two hour endurance. A product of the Izhmash company, the Tachyon was specifically designed for use in harsh climatic conditions and has been issued to Russian Special Forces in the Kola Peninsula. The Zala Aero Group has produced yet another family of ‘flying wing’ mini-UAVs, the Zala 42116s designed for all-day ship- or land-based reconnaissance and surveillance. In April 2021, the company announced that its five metre wingspan, 29 kg Zala 421-16E5G was the “world’s first” light UAV to be powered by a hybrid powerplant combining an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. During the flight, the internal combustion engine is not the main driving force but feeds the generator and the battery.

The most widely used, and arguably the most successful Russian designed tactical UAV, is the fixed-wing Orlan-10 produced by the Special Technological Center in St. Petersburg. With a length of 1.8 meters, a wingspan of 3.1 meters, an MTOW of 18 kg, it can carry a 2.5 kg payload

The tailless ENUCS Eleron 3 is used by the Russian Armed Forces for local short-range ISR. © Russian MoD

The Zala 421-16E5 short-range tactical mini-UAV has been fitted with a hybrid powerplant. © Zala Aero Group The Izhmash Tachyon was designed for use in harsh climatic conditions such as the Russian Arctic region. © Russian MoD

at a speed of up to 150 km/h over 150 km with a service ceiling of 5,000 meters. The pistonengined Orlan-10 is catapult launched and recovered by parachute. More than 1,000 have been produced.

Army specialists in unmanned aviation from all the Russian Military Districts, the Northern Fleet, the Airborne Troops, the Strategic Missile Forces, and the Far Eastern Military Command School take part in the annual Falcon Hunting competition. During the competition, the teams demonstrated their skills with Orlan-10 and Eleron-3 UAVs. Theoretical and practical exercises were conducted with the UAV crews performing aerial reconnaissance missions to search for targets in specified areas and adjusting artillery fire.

In 2021 personnel of the Joint Russian-Turkish Centre continued to fulfill the tasks of monitoring the ceasefire and military operations in the

Developed by the Specialist Technological Center, the Orlan-10 is the Russia Armed Force’s primary multirole tactical UAV. © Russian MoD

The Luch Design Bureau Korsar is being developed to replace the Forpost tactical UAV. © Russian MoD

zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict using Forpost and Orlan-10 UAVs. The joint RussianTurkish centre was deployed on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with a memorandum signed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey in November, 2020.

More than 50 Russian UAVs have been lost in Syria since 2015 from technical failures or by being shot down by rebel forces, while more than 15 Orlan-10s have been shot down in the disputed Donbass region of Ukraine, and Russia has yet to develop an operational unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). The Luch Design Bureau medium-weight pistonengined Korsar is intended to replace the Forpost, to perform reconnaissance, strike and electronic attack missions for the Russian Ground Forces. The 6.5 meter wingspan, piston engined Korsar has an MTOW of 400 kg, a maximum speed of 150 km/h and an endurance of 12 hours. Although Russian sources claim that it has been successfully tested in Syria, targeting rebel forces, its development has been protracted and none are yet in operational service.

Another UCAV with a protracted development is the twin-engined Sokol Altius. The programme

The Kronstadt Orion-E is the first Russian made armed medium altitude, long-range (MALE) UAV. © Kronstadt

Kronstadt is developing the Grom ‘Loyal Wingman’ which will be capable of controlling a swarm of Molniya mini-UAVs. © Kronstadt

was launched in 2011 but only three prototypes have been built. Powered by two Klimov vVK800C turboprop engines, the 8,000 kg Altius has a 1,000 kg payload and an endurance of 24 hours at a ceiling of 12,000 meters.

The Reaper-class Kronstadt Orion-E is the first Russian-made armed medium altitude, longrange (MALE) UAV and although one crashed during a test flight in November 2019, three systems have been delivered to the Russian MoD for evaluation and training. During combat evaluation in 2018, an Orion-E was deployed to Tiyas Air Base in central Syria.

Powered by a Russian-built Rotax 914 fourstroke piston engine, with a wingspan of 16 meters and an MTOW of 1,200 kg, the Orion-E can carry up to a 200 kg payload of sensors and smart munitions. In April 2021 it was announced that the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation had not ruled out the possibility of delivering the Orion-E to Armenia.

The projected Helios is a larger version of the Orion, classified as a high altitude, longendurance (HALE) UAV. Weighting 5,000 kg with a wingspan of 30 meters, it will carry a 200 kg payload to a ceiling of 7,500 meters with an endurance of 24 hours. The first flight is scheduled to take place in 2023.

Kronstadt is also developing the Grom ‘Loyal Wingman’ which will be capable of controlling a swarm of 10 Kronstadt designed Molniya miniUAVs and carrying Kh-38M short-range air-tosurface missiles. With a length of 13.8 meters, a wingspan of 10 metres, the Grom will have an MTOW of 7,000 kg and carry a 2,000 kg payload. Kronstadt has begun construction of a new plant for the production of its UAVs which is expected to open in November 2021 at a cost of US$52 million.

The S-70 Okhotnik heavy stealthy UCAV has been under development by Sukhoi for almost a decade before the prototype made its maiden flight in August 2019. The 20-ton tailless flyingwing design has a wingspan of 20 meters and a reported maximum speed of 1,000 km/hr. The Novosibirsk Chkalov Aviation Plant is now building three more prototypes of the S-70 with multiple improvements in particular related to the sensor systems, onboard radio-electronic equipment and structural elements of the airframe. Flight testing is scheduled to begin in 2022.

The Russian MoD wants to integrate the Okhotnik with the fifth generation Sukhoi Su57 Felon multirole fighter aircraft, envisaging that two or three Su-57 squadrons would have a single S-70 assigned to them which would have the possible role of a ‘Loyal Wingman’ with first deliveries expected by 2024.

Russia has attempted to develop vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capable UAVs but few have materialised into viable in-service

Developed by Sukhoi, the S-70 Okhotnik stealthy UCAV will operate alongside manned Su-57 Felon fighter aircraft. © Russian MoD

solutions for the Russian Armed Forces and the navy in particular. The Zala Aero Group began developing a range of small tactical rotarywing UAVs in 2003 including the Zala 421-05H and 421-06 with MTOWs of 10 kg and 12.5 kg respectively which saw limited production until 2011.

The Russian research and development company Radar MMS has also developed a small unmanned helicopter, the GSV-37 Breeze, for the Russian Navy. The Breeze is designed for providing search and rescue, patrol and security, and counter-terrorism support. Powered by an internal combustion engine, the MTOW of the UAV is 35 kg, its mission payload 12 kg and it has an endurance of 90 minutes operating up to 1,000 meters.

Following collaboration with the Austrian company Schiebel in 2011, the Russian company OAO Gorizont has been building the successful Camcopter S-100 under license. Based in Rostovon-Don, Gorizont is offering potential customers the option of equipping the UAV with its own EO/IR sensors and radar payloads. The Russian version of the S-100 has been evaluated by the Russian Coast Guard and successfully tested aboard Russian Border Guard of the Federal Security Service (FSS) patrol vessels. After trials carried out on an icebreaker in the Baltic Sea, the Gorizont S-100 was selected to operate from Russia Navy’s new generation icebreaker, Viktor Chernomyrdin.

However, the Russian Navy has yet to place a significant contract for a maritime unmanned aerial system and is following the other Russian forces in being behind the curve on unmanned technology.

The Groizont S-100 is a licensebuilt variant of Austria’s successful Schiebel S-100 Camcopter VTOL UAV used for maritime applications. © David Oliver