Russian unmanned aerial vehicles for military purposes. USA strike uavs - present and future. Use of an uav for civil purposes

Protection of the airspace of Russia / Photo: cdn5.img.ria.ru

Russian scientists are developing hypersonic aircraft to overcome the missile defense, said the head of the project team Boris Satovsky.

According to him, now the whole world is going through a turning point, when, taking into account the achieved level of technological development, a rethinking of the methods of using strategic weapons is taking place. In the process of technological development, new types and types of weapons appear, for example, based on maneuvering hypersonic elements.

According to media reports, this year the Russian military has twice tested a hypersonic aircraft designed to replace traditional warheads for promising intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The maneuver that a hypersonic warhead makes after entering the dense layers of the atmosphere makes it difficult to intercept missile defense systems. Hypersonic flight speed is called a flight speed that is significantly (five times or more) higher than the speed of sound in the atmosphere, that is, 330 meters per second, RIA Novosti reports.

Technical reference

Russia will be able to limit the effectiveness of the US missile defense system with the help of the Yu-71 hypersonic aircraft, which is currently being tested, writes the Washington Times. The new weapon will be able to carry a nuclear charge at a speed of 10 times the speed of sound.

Estimated view of U-71 / Image: nampuom-pycu.livejournal.com

Under the strictest secrecy, Russia is testing a new hypersonic maneuvering aircraft, the Yu-71, which will be capable of carrying nuclear warheads at 10 times the speed of sound, according to the Washington Times. The Kremlin is developing similar devices to overcome the US missile defense, with reference to the newspaper, InoTV notes. () The Yu-71 (Yu-71) has been in development for several years. The last tests of the aircraft took place in February 2015. The launch took place from the Dombarovsky test site near Orenburg. Previously, it was purely presumably reported on other Western sources, but now this launch has been confirmed by new analysts. The publication refers to the report released in June by the well-known Western military-analytical center Jane's.

Previously, this designation - Yu-71 - did not appear in open sources.

Yu-71 - hypersonic aircraft / Photo: azfilm.ru

According to The WashingtonFree Beacon, the aircraft is part of a secret Russian project with the creation of a certain object 4202. Analysts say that the February launch was carried out using the UR-100N UTTKh rocket, in which the object 4202 served as a warhead, and ended unsuccessfully.

Perhaps, under such an index are the developed modifications of hypersonic maneuvering nuclear warheads, which have been equipped for several years now. Russian ICBMs... After separation from the carrier rocket, these units are capable of changing the flight trajectory in altitude and heading and, as a result, successfully bypass both existing and promising missile defense systems.

This will give Russia the ability to deliver high-precision strikes against selected targets, and in combination with the capabilities of its anti-missile defense system, Moscow will be able to successfully hit a target with only one missile.

24 hypersonic aircraft with nuclear warheads will be deployed at the Dombarovsky training ground from 2020 to 2025, according to the military analytical center Jane's Information Group. By that time, Moscow will have a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying the Ju-71, the newspaper writes.

The speed of hypersonic aircraft reaches 11,200 km / h, and the unpredictable maneuverability makes the task of their bearing almost impossible, emphasizes the Washington Times.

Hello!

I want to say right away that it is difficult to believe in this, it is almost impossible that the stereotype is to blame for everything, but I will try to state this clearly and argue with specific tests.

My article is intended for people associated with aviation or those who are interested in aviation.

In 2000, the idea arose, the trajectory of the movement of a mechanical blade in a circle with a turn on its axis. As shown in Fig. 1.

And so imagine, the blade (1), (flat rectangular plate, side view) rotating around a circle (3) turns on its axis (2) in a certain dependence, by 2 degrees of rotation around the circumference, 1 degree of turn on its axis (2) ... As a result, we have the blade trajectory shown in Fig. 1 (1). And now imagine that the blade is in a fluid medium, in air or water, with such a movement, the following occurs, moving in one direction (5) around the circumference, the blade has maximum resistance to the fluid medium, and moving in the other direction (4) around the circumference, has minimal resistance to fluid.

This is the principle of the propulsion unit, it remains to invent a mechanism that executes the trajectory of the blade. This is what I did from 2000 to 2013. The mechanism, called the VRK, stands for a rotating unfolding wing. In this description, wing, blade, and plate have the same meaning.

I created my own workshop and began to create, tried different options, around 2004-2005 I got the following result.

Rice. 2

Rice. 3

Made a simulator for checking the lifting force of the VRK Fig. 2. The VRK is made of three blades, the blades along the inner perimeter have a stretched red raincoat fabric, the meaning of the simulator is to overcome the gravity force of 4 kg. Fig. 3. I attached the steelyard to the propeller shaft. Result Fig. 4:

Rice. 4

The simulator easily lifted this load, there was a report on the local television of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Bira, these are footage from this report. Then he added the speed and adjusted it to 7 kg., The simulator lifted this weight too, after that he tried to add more speed, but the mechanism could not stand it. Therefore, I can judge the experiment by this result, although it is not final, but in numbers it looks like this:

The clip shows a simulator for testing the lifting force of the VRK. On the legs, a horizontal structure is hingedly fixed, on one side there is a VDK and a drive on the other. Drive - el. motor 0.75kW, efficiency el. engine 0.75%, that is, in fact, the engine produces 0.75 * 0.75 = 0.5625 kW, we know that 1 hp = 0.7355 kW.

Before turning on the simulator, I weigh the VRK shaft with a steelyard, the weight is 4 kg. This can be seen from the clip, after the reportage, I changed the gear ratio, added speed and added weight, as a result, the simulator lifted 7 kilograms, after which, with an increase in weight and revolutions, it could not stand it. Let's go back to the calculations in fact, if 0.5625kW lifts 7 kg, then 1hp = 0.7355kW will raise 0.7355kW / 0.5625KW = 1.3 and 7 * 1.3 = 9.1kg.

The propeller propeller during the test showed a vertical lift of 9.1 kg / horsepower. For example, a helicopter has half the lift. (compare specifications helicopters, where the maximum take-off weight for engine power is 3.5-4 kg / per 1 hp, for an aircraft it is 8 kg / per 1 hp). I want to note that this is not the final result, for testing, the propeller-driven propellant must be done in the factory and on a stand with precision instruments, to determine the lifting force.

The propeller propeller, has the technical ability to change the direction of the driving force by 360 degrees, this allows vertical take-off and transition to horizontal movement. In this article, I do not dwell on this issue, it is stated in my patents.

Received 2 patents for VRK Fig. 5, Fig. 6, but today they are not valid for non-payment. But all the information for the creation of a VRK is not in the patents.

Rice. five

Rice. 6

Now the most difficult thing, everyone has a stereotype about existing aircraft, this is an airplane and a helicopter (I do not take examples on jet propulsion or missiles).

VRK - having an advantage over the propeller, such as a higher driving force and a change in the direction of movement by 360 degrees, it allows you to create completely new aircraft for various purposes, which will take off vertically from any site and smoothly transition into horizontal movement.

In terms of the complexity of production, aircraft with a VRK are not more complicated than a car; the purpose of the aircraft can be very different:

• Customized, put on the back, and flew like a bird;
• Family mode of transport, for 4-5 people, Fig. 7;
• Municipal transport: ambulance, police, administration, fire department, Ministry of Emergency Situations, etc., Fig. 7;
• Airbuses for peripheral and intercity communication, Fig. 8;
• An aircraft taking off vertically on the VRK, switching to jet engines, Fig. nine;
• And any aircraft for all kinds of tasks.

Rice. 7

Rice. eight

Rice. nine

Their appearance and the principle of flight are difficult to perceive. In addition to flying vehicles, the VRK can be used as a propulsion device for swimming vehicles, but we do not touch on this topic here.

VRK is a whole area, which I cannot cope with alone, I would like to hope that this area will be needed in Russia.

Having received the result in 2004-2005, I was elated and hoped that I would quickly convey my thoughts to the specialists, but until this happened, all the years I made new versions of the VRK, applied different kinematic schemes, but the test result was negative. In 2011, I repeated the 2004-2005 version, email. the motor was switched on through the inverter, this provided smooth start The VRK, however, the VRK mechanism was made from the materials available to me according to a simplified version, so I can't give the maximum load, I adjusted it by 2 kg.

I slowly raise the speed of the email. engine, as a result, the VRK shows a quiet smooth takeoff.

Full clip of the last test:

On this optimistic note, I say goodbye to you.

Respectfully yours, Anatoly Alekseevich Kokhochev.

IN last years appeared a large number of publications on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for solving topographic problems. This interest is largely due to the simplicity of their operation, efficiency, relatively low cost, efficiency, etc. The listed qualities and the availability of effective software for automatic processing of aerial photography materials (including the selection of the necessary points) open up the possibility of widespread use of software and hardware for unmanned aircraft in the practice of engineering and geodetic surveys.

In this issue, with an overview of the technical means of unmanned aviation, we open a series of publications about the capabilities of UAVs and the experience of using them in field and office work.

D.P. INOZEMTSEV, Project Manager, PLAZ LLC, St. Petersburg

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Part 1. Overview of technical means

HISTORICAL REFERENCE

Unmanned aerial vehicles appeared in connection with the need to effectively solve military tasks - tactical reconnaissance, delivery to the destination combat weapons(bombs, torpedoes, etc.), combat control, etc. And it is no coincidence that their first use is considered to be the delivery of bombs by Austrian troops to besieged Venice with the help of balloons in 1849. The emergence of radiotelegraph and aviation served as a powerful impetus to the development of UAVs, which made it possible to significantly improve their autonomy and controllability.

So, in 1898, Nikola Tesla developed and demonstrated a miniature radio-controlled ship, and already in 1910, the American military engineer Charles Kettering proposed, built and tested several models of unmanned aerial vehicles. The first UAV was developed in the UK in 1933

reusable, and the radio-controlled target created on its basis was used in the Royal Navy of Great Britain until 1943.

The research of German scientists who gave the world in the 1940s a jet engine and cruise missile"V-1" as the first unmanned aerial vehicle used in real combat operations.

In the USSR in 1930-1940 aircraft designer Nikitin developed a “flying wing” -type torpedo-glider, and by the beginning of the 40s a project was prepared for an unmanned flying torpedo with a flight range of 100 kilometers or more, but these developments did not turn into real designs.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War interest in UAVs has increased significantly, and since the 1960s, their widespread introduction has been noted for solving non-military tasks.

In general, the history of the UAV can be roughly divided into four time stages:

1.1849 - the beginning of the twentieth century - attempts and experimental experiments on the creation of UAVs, the formation of the theoretical foundations of aerodynamics, the theory of flight and calculation of the aircraft in the works of scientists.

2. The beginning of the twentieth century - 1945 - the development of military UAVs (aircraft-projectiles with a short range and duration of flight).

3.1945-1960 - the period of expansion of the classification of UAVs by purpose and their creation mainly for reconnaissance operations.

4.1960 years - today - the expansion of the classification and improvement of UAVs, the beginning of mass use for solving non-military tasks.

UAV CLASSIFICATION

It is well known that aerial photography, as a form of Earth remote sensing (ERS), is the most efficient method for collecting spatial information, the basis for creating topographic plans and maps, creation of three-dimensional models of relief and terrain. Aerial photography is carried out both from manned aircraft - airplanes, airships, motor hang-gliders and balloons, and from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Unmanned aerial vehicles, like manned aerial vehicles, are of the aircraft type and also of the helicopter type (helicopters and multicopters are aircraft with four or more rotors with rotors). Currently, there is no generally accepted classification of aircraft type UAVs in Russia. Missiles.

Ru together with the portal UAV.RU offers modern classification An aircraft-type UAV developed on the basis of the approaches of the UAV International organization, but taking into account the specifics and situation of the domestic market (classes) (Table 1):

Micro and mini UAVs of short range. The class of miniature ultralight and light vehicles and complexes based on them with a takeoff weight of up to 5 kilograms began to appear in Russia relatively recently, but already quite

widely represented. Such UAVs are designed for individual operational use at short ranges at a distance of up to 25-40 kilometers. They are easy to operate and transport, foldable and positioned as "wearable", launch is carried out using a catapult or by hand. These include: Geoscan 101, Geoscan 201, 101ZALA 421-11, ZALA 421-08, ZALA 421-12, T23 Eleron, T25, Eleron-3, Gamayun-3, Irkut-2M, Istra-10 ",

"BROTHER", "Lokon", "Inspector 101", "Inspector 201", "Inspector 301", etc.

Light UAVs of short range. This class includes slightly larger vehicles - takeoff weight from 5 to 50 kilograms. The range of their action is within 10-120 kilometers.

Among them: Geoscan 300, "GRANT", ZALA 421-04, Orlan-10, PteroSM, PteroE5, T10, "Eleron-10", "Gamayun-10", "Irkut-10",

T92 "Lotos", T90 (T90-11), T21, T24, Tipchak UAV-05, UAV-07, UAV-08.

Light UAVs of medium range. A number of domestic samples can be attributed to this class of UAVs. Their mass varies between 50-100 kilograms. These include: T92M "Chibis", ZALA 421-09,

Dozor-2, Dozor-4, Bee-1T.

Medium UAVs. The takeoff weight of medium-sized UAVs ranges from 100 to 300 kilograms. They are designed for use at ranges of 150-1000 kilometers. In this class: M850 "Astra", "Binom", La-225 "Komar", T04, E22M "Berta", "Berkut", "Irkut-200".

Medium-weight UAVs. This class has a range of application similar to the UAVs of the previous class, but they have a slightly higher take-off weight - from 300 to 500 kilograms.

This class should include: "Hummingbird", "Dunem", "Dan-Baruk", "Aist" ("Julia"), "Dozor-3".

Heavy UAVs of medium range. This class includes UAVs with a flight mass of 500 or more kilograms, designed for use at medium ranges of 70-300 kilometers. In the heavy class the following: Tu-243 "Flight-D", Tu-300, "Irkut-850", "Nart" (A-03).

Heavy UAVs with long flight duration. A fairly popular category of unmanned vehicles abroad, which includes the American UAVs Predator, Reaper, GlobalHawk, Israeli Heron, Heron TP. There are practically no samples in Russia: Zond-3M, Zond-2, Zond-1, Sukhoi unmanned aerial systems (Bass), within which a robotic aviation complex (RAC) is being created.

Unmanned combat aircraft (UAF). Currently, the world is actively working on the creation of promising UAVs capable of carrying weapons on board and intended for strikes against ground and surface stationary and mobile targets in the face of strong opposition from enemy air defense forces. They are characterized by a range of about 1,500 kilometers and a mass of 1,500 kilograms.

Today in Russia in the BBS class two projects are presented: "Proryv-U", "Skat".

In practice, for aerial photography, as a rule, UAVs weighing up to 10-15 kilograms are used (micro-, mini-UAVs and light UAVs). This is due to the fact that with an increase in the take-off weight of the UAV, the complexity of its development and, accordingly, the cost increases, but the reliability and safety of operation decreases. The fact is that when the UAV lands, energy E = mv2 / 2 is released, and the larger the vehicle's mass m, the greater its landing speed v, that is, the energy released during landing grows very quickly with increasing mass. And this energy can damage both the UAV itself and the property on the ground.

An unmanned helicopter and multicopter are free from this disadvantage. Theoretically, such a device can be landed with an arbitrarily low speed of approach to the Earth. However, unmanned helicopters are too expensive, and copters are not yet capable of flying long distances, and are used only for shooting local objects (individual buildings and structures).

Rice. 1. UAV Mavinci SIRIUS Fig. 2. UAV Geoscan 101

UAV ADVANTAGES

The superiority of UAVs over manned aircraft is, first of all, the cost of work, as well as a significant reduction in the number of routine operations. The very absence of a person on board the aircraft greatly simplifies the preparatory measures for aerial photography.

Firstly, no airfield is needed, even the most primitive one. Unmanned aerial vehicles are launched either from the hand or using a special take-off device - a catapult.

Secondly, especially when using the electric propulsion circuit, there is no need for qualified technical assistance for servicing the aircraft, and the safety measures at the work site are not so complicated.

Thirdly, there is no or a much longer period of UAV operation compared to a manned aircraft.

This circumstance has great importance when operating an aerial photography complex in remote areas of our country. As a rule, the field season of aerial photography is short, every fine day should be used for surveying.

UAV DEVICE

two main UAV layout schemes: classical (according to the "fuselage + wings + tail" scheme), which includes, for example, the UAV "Orlan-10", Mavinci SIRIUS (Fig. 1), etc., and the "flying wing", to which include Geoscan101 (Fig. 2), Gatewing X100, Trimble UX5, etc.

The main parts of an unmanned aerial photography complex are: body, engine, onboard control system (autopilot), ground control system (NSC) and aerial photography equipment.

The UAV body is made of lightweight plastic (for example, carbon fiber or Kevlar) to protect expensive camera equipment and controls and navigation, and its wings are made of plastic or extruded polystyrene foam (EPP). This material is lightweight, strong enough and does not break on impact. A deformed EPP part can often be restored with improvised means.

A lightweight UAV with a parachute landing can withstand several hundred flights without repair, which, as a rule, includes the replacement of wings, fuselage elements, etc. Manufacturers are trying to reduce the cost of parts of the hull that are subject to wear so that the user's expenses for maintaining the UAV in working order are minimal.

It should be noted that the most expensive elements of the aerial photography complex, the ground control system, avionics, software, are generally not subject to wear and tear.

The power plant of the UAV can be gasoline or electric. Moreover, a gasoline engine will provide a much longer flight, since gasoline, per kilogram, stores 10-15 times more energy than can be stored in the best battery. However, such a propulsion system is complex, less reliable and requires a significant amount of time to prepare the UAV for launch. In addition, a gasoline powered unmanned aerial vehicle is extremely difficult to transport to the work site by plane. Finally, it requires the operator highly qualified... Therefore, it makes sense to use a gasoline UAV only in cases where a very long flight duration is required - for continuous monitoring, for examining particularly distant objects.

The electric propulsion system, on the other hand, is very undemanding to the level of qualifications of the service personnel. Modern rechargeable batteries can provide over four hours of continuous flight time. Maintenance of an electric motor is a snap. Mostly this is only protection against moisture and dirt, as well as checking the voltage of the on-board network, which is carried out from the ground control system. The batteries are charged from the on-board network of the accompanying vehicle or from an autonomous electric generator. The brushless electric motor of the UAV practically does not wear out.

Autopilot - with an inertial system (Fig. 3) - the most important element of UAV control.

The autopilot weighs only 20-30 grams. But this is a very complex product. In addition to a powerful processor, the autopilot has many sensors - a three-axis gyroscope and an accelerometer (and sometimes a magnetometer), a GLO-NASS / GPS receiver, a pressure sensor, and an airspeed sensor. With these devices, the unmanned aerial vehicle will be able to fly strictly according to a given course.

Rice. 3. Autopilot Micropilot

The UAV has a radio modem necessary for loading the flight task, transmitting telemetric data about the flight and the current location at the work site to the ground control system.

Ground control system

(NSU) is a tablet computer or laptop equipped with a modem for communication with the UAV. An important part of the NSO is the software for planning the flight mission and displaying the progress of its implementation.

As a rule, the flight task is compiled automatically, according to a given contour of an areal object or nodal points of a linear object. In addition, it is possible to design flight routes based on the required flight altitude and the required resolution of photographs on the ground. To automatically maintain a given flight altitude, it is possible to take into account a digital terrain model in common formats in a flight task.

During the flight, the position of the UAV and the contours of the photographs taken are displayed on the cartographic substrate of the NSU monitor. During the flight, the operator has the ability to quickly re-target the UAV to another landing area and even quickly land the drone with the "red" button of the ground control system. On command from the NSO, other auxiliary operations can be planned, for example, the release of a parachute.

In addition to providing navigation and flight support, the autopilot must control the camera in order to receive images with a specified interframe interval (as soon as the UAV has flown the required distance from the previous photographing center). If the pre-calculated interframe spacing is not consistently maintained, the shutter response time must be adjusted in such a way that, even with a favorable wind, the longitudinal overlap is sufficient.

The autopilot must register the coordinates of the photographing centers of the GLONASS / GPS geodetic satellite receiver so that the automatic image processing program can build a model quickly and tie it to the terrain. The required accuracy of determining the coordinates of the centers of photographing depends on the terms of reference for the performance of aerial photography.

Aerial photography equipment on the UAV is installed depending on its class and purpose of use.

Micro- and mini-UAVs are equipped with compact digital cameras equipped with interchangeable fixed focal length lenses (without a zoom or zoom device) weighing 300-500 grams. SONY NEX-7 cameras are currently used as such cameras.

with a matrix of 24.3 MP, CANON600D with a matrix of 18.5 MP and the like. The shutter release control and signal transmission from the shutter to the satellite receiver is performed using standard or slightly modified electrical connectors of the camera.

SLR cameras with a large photosensitive element are installed on light UAVs with a short range, for example, CanonEOS5D (sensor size 36 × 24 mm), NikonD800 (36.8 MP sensor (sensor size 35.9 × 24 mm)), Pentax645D (CCD sensor 44 × 33 mm, 40 MP matrix) and the like, weighing 1.0–1.5 kilograms.

Rice. 4. Layout of aerial photographs (blue rectangles with caption numbers)

UAV POSSIBILITIES

According to the requirements of the document "Basic provisions for aerial photography carried out to create and update topographic maps and plans ”GKINP-09-32-80, the carrier of aerial photography equipment must very accurately follow the design position of the aerial photography routes, maintain a given echelon (photographing height), ensure compliance with the maximum deviations in the camera orientation angles - tilt, roll, pitch. In addition, the navigation equipment must provide exact time triggering the shutter and determine the coordinates of the centers of photography.

Above, the equipment integrated into the autopilot was indicated: this is a microbarometer, an airspeed sensor, an inertial system, and navigation satellite equipment. According to the tests carried out (in particular, the Geoscan101 UAV), the following deviations of the actual survey parameters from the specified ones were established:

UAV deviations from the route axis - in the range of 5-10 meters;

Photo altitude deviations - in the range of 5–10 meters;

Fluctuation of heights of photographing adjacent images - no more

Fir-trees that appear in flight (rotations of images in the horizontal plane) are processed by an automated photogrammetric processing system without noticeable negative consequences.

The photographic equipment installed on the UAV makes it possible to obtain digital images of the terrain with a resolution of better than 3 centimeters per pixel. The use of short-, medium-, and long-focus photographic lenses is determined by the nature of the finished materials obtained: whether it is a relief model or an orthomosaic. All calculations are made in the same way as in "large" aerial photography.

The use of the dual-frequency GLO-NASS / GPS satellite geodetic system for determining the coordinates of the image centers allows, in the process of post-processing, to obtain the coordinates of the photographing centers with an accuracy of better than 5 centimeters, and the use of the PPP (PrecisePoint Positioning) method allows determining the coordinates of the image centers without using base stations or at a considerable distance from them.

Final processing of aerial photography materials can serve as an objective criterion for assessing the quality of the work performed. As an illustration, we can consider the data on the assessment of the accuracy of photogrammetric processing of aerial photography from UAVs performed in the PhotoScan software (manufactured by Agiso ſt, St. Petersburg) by control points (Table 2).

Point numbers	Errors along the coordinate axes, m				Abs, pix	Projection
(ΔD) 2 = ΔХ2 + ΔY2 + ΔZ2

UAV APPLICATION

In the world, and recently in Russia, unmanned aerial vehicles are used in geodetic surveys during construction, for drawing up cadastral plans of industrial facilities, transport infrastructure, settlements, summer cottages, in mine surveying to determine the volume of mine workings and dumps, when accounting for traffic bulk cargo in quarries, ports, mining and processing plants, for creating maps, plans and 3D models of cities and enterprises.

3. Tseplyaeva T.P., Morozova O.V. Stages of development of unmanned aerial vehicles. M., "Open information and computer integrated technologies", No. 42, 2009.

For a quarter of a century, ideas have been floating around the world about the creation of a so-called hybrid aircraft, which in its design will allow combining an airship, an airplane and a helicopter. Why is such a strange design needed if all three of these types of aircraft can be used separately? And the fact is that even in the era of large Soviet construction projects, the problem arose of transporting massive structures that still needed to be installed exactly in the agreed place. Indeed, an ordinary helicopter will not carry a multi-ton drilling rig to the place of operation. Therefore, the elements of the tower were delivered by rail, and then started assembling. This took up a huge amount of time and resources, including financial ones. It was then that the Tyumen designers had the idea of ​​creating such an aircraft that could move through the air at a relatively low speed and carry a load of large mass.

Incidentally, this idea, being the first in the USSR, reached the United States. Already next year, the Americans are planning to fly a giant "Aeroscraft" into the sky - both an aircraft and an airship at the same time. It can be stated that Russian designers were ahead of the Americans in terms of implementing the idea of ​​a hybrid aircraft. After all, its "BARS", and this is the name of the hybrid, made its first flight over the Tyumen fields back in the mid-90s. It turns out that the job is done and our aircraft designers can rest on their laurels, however, as always, their work and talent cannot be appreciated. This is due, first of all, to total underfunding. The same "BARS", despite its obvious advantages, has not been put into mass production, therefore, many tasks for the transportation of goods by air have not yet been resolved.

Let's try to figure out what are the advantages of hybrid aircraft? The fact is that the design of the same "BARS" is a real integration of the elements of three aircraft at once. Its body is made of the same materials as the aircraft body, but in its central part there is a technological area with several propellers. These screws allow the hybrid machine to move strictly vertically. In addition, the aircraft is equipped with helium containers, which implement the principle of airship flight and allow the hybrid to be rigidly fixed on the ground during unloading. The "BARS" and similar models have elevators, as well as lateral empennage, like a conventional aircraft. This allows him to effectively maneuver in flight.

Many may notice that the airship could also cope with the function of delivering large equipment to the agreed point, however, the airship is much more difficult to control and is subject to the influence of currents. air masses that can easily lead to disaster. And also the airship cannot effectively lower a large load - after the descent of a multi-ton structure, the airship can take off uncontrollably, as when throwing off large ballast. A hybrid aircraft is devoid of such disadvantages. In addition, aircraft such as BARS are equipped with an air cushion, which can allow it to fill a special capsule with water, and then use it to extinguish fires or irrigate fields.

While the Russian idea is still entirely focused on civilian cargo transportation, the Americans are planning to use their hybrid for military purposes as well. The Pentagon says it is already ready to purchase several "Aeroscraft" so that in the future with its help to deliver warheads and contingent to hard-to-reach areas.

Of course, it goes without saying that hybrid aircraft should be used as a passenger transport. For this purpose, aircraft are better suited, because the speed of the hybrid is not higher than 200 km / h. But in terms of efficient provision of remote construction sites, transportation of large cargo through mountain ranges, extinguishing fires, these machines will not be equal. Note that the carrying capacity of the hybrid is about 400 tons, which is 130 tons higher than the carrying capacity of the huge Mriya aircraft.

Let's hope that flying hybrids will soon begin to be supplied to various sectors of Russian civil aviation.

The ability to preserve the most valuable resource - soldiers on the battlefield since the beginning of the first wars was the most important and promising. Modern technologies allow the use of combat vehicles remotely, which eliminates the loss of the operator even when a unit is destroyed. One of the most relevant these days is the creation of unmanned aerial vehicles.

What is UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle)

UAV refers to any aircraft in which there is no pilot in the air. The autonomy of the devices is different: there are simple options with remote control, or fully automated machines. The first option is also called remotely piloted aircraft (RPV), they are distinguished by the continuous supply of commands from the operator. More advanced systems require only occasional commands, between which the device works autonomously.

The main advantage of such machines over manned fighters and reconnaissance aircraft is that they are up to 20 times cheaper than their counterparts with comparable capabilities.

The lack of devices in the vulnerability of communication channels, which are easy to disrupt and disable the machine.

The history of the creation and development of UAVs

The history of drones began in Great Britain in 1933, when a radio-controlled aircraft was assembled on the basis of the Fairy Queen biplane. Before the outbreak of World War II and in the early years, more than 400 of these machines were assembled, which were used as targets in the Royal Navy.

The first combat vehicle of this class was the famous German V-1, equipped with a pulsating jet engine. It is noteworthy that warhead aircraft could be launched both from the ground and from air carriers.

The rocket was guided by the following means:

• an autopilot, which was assigned the parameters of the altitude and heading before launch;
• the range was measured by a mechanical counter, which was driven by the rotation of the blades in the bow (the latter were launched from the incoming air stream);
• upon reaching the set distance (spread - 6 km), the fuses were cocked, and the projectile automatically went into dive mode.

During the war years, the United States produced targets for training anti-aircraft gunners - the Radioplane OQ-2. Towards the end of the confrontation, the first multiple-action attack drones, the Interstate TDR, appeared. The aircraft turned out to be ineffective due to its low speed and range, which were due to the low cost of production. In addition, the technical means of that time did not allow aimed fire, to fight at a long distance without following the control aircraft. Nevertheless, there were successes in the use of machines.

In the post-war years, UAVs were regarded exclusively as targets, but the situation changed after the appearance of anti-aircraft missile systems... From that moment on, the drones became scouts, false targets for enemy anti-aircraft guns. Practice has shown that their use reduces the loss of manned aircraft.

Until the 70s, heavy reconnaissance aircraft were actively produced in the Soviet Union as unmanned aircraft:

1. Tu-123 "Hawk";
2. Tu-141 "Strizh";
3. Tu-143 "Flight".

Significant air losses in Vietnam for the United States Army have resulted in a revival of interest in UAVs.

This is where the means for performing various tasks appear;

• photo reconnaissance;
• electronic intelligence;
• goals electronic warfare.

In this form, the 147E was used, which collected intelligence so efficiently that it repeatedly recouped the cost of the entire program for their own development.

The practice of using UAVs has shown much greater potential as full-fledged combat vehicles. Therefore, after the early 80s, the United States began to develop tactical and operational-strategic drones.

Israeli specialists took part in the development of UAVs of the 80-90s. Initially, US devices were purchased, but their own scientific and technical base for development was quickly formed. The company "Tadiran" has proved itself the best of all. The Israeli army also demonstrated the effectiveness of the use of UAVs, carrying out operations against the Syrian forces in 1982.

In the 80s and 90s, the obvious successes of an aircraft without a crew on board provoked the beginning of development at many companies around the world.

In the early 2000s, the first striking device appeared - the American MQ-1 Predator. On board were installed AGM-114C Hellfire missiles. At the beginning of the century, drones were mainly used in the Middle East.

Until now, almost all countries are actively developing and implementing UAVs. For example, in 2013, the Russian Armed Forces received short-range reconnaissance systems - "Orlan-10".

Also, a new heavy aircraft is being developed at the Sukhoi and MiG Design Bureau - a strike aircraft with a take-off weight of up to 20 tons.

The purpose of the drone

Unmanned aerial vehicles are mainly used to solve the following tasks:

• targets, including for diverting enemy air defense systems;
• intelligence service;
• striking various moving and stationary targets;
• electronic warfare and others.

The effectiveness of the apparatus in performing tasks is determined by the quality of the following means: reconnaissance, communications, automated control systems, weapons.

Now such aircraft are successfully reducing the loss of personnel, delivering information that cannot be obtained at a distance of direct visibility.

UAV varieties

Combat drones are generally classified by control type as remote, automatic, and unguided.

In addition, classification by weight and performance characteristics is in use:

• Ultra lightweight. These are the lightest UAVs, weighing less than 10 kg. In the air, they can spend an hour on average, the practical ceiling is 1000 meters;
• Lungs. The mass of such machines reaches 50 kg, they are able to climb 3-5 km and spend 2-3 hours in operation;
• Average. These are serious devices weighing up to a ton, their ceiling is 10 km, and they can spend up to 12 hours in the air without landing;
• Heavy. Large aircraft weighing more than a ton are able to climb to an altitude of 20 km and work for more than a day without landing.

These groups also have civilian devices, of course, they are lighter and simpler. Full-fledged combat vehicles are often no less than manned aircraft in size.

Uncontrollable

Unmanaged systems are the simplest form of UAVs. They are controlled by onboard mechanics, established flight characteristics. In this form, targets, scouts or projectiles can be used.

Remote control

Remote control usually takes place through radio communication, which limits the range of the machine. For example, civil aircraft can operate within 7-8 km.

Automatic

These are mainly combat vehicles capable of independently performing complex missions in the air. This class of machines is the most versatile.

Principle of operation

The principle of UAV operation depends on its design features. There are several layout schemes that most modern aircraft correspond to:

• Fixed wing. In this case, the devices are close to the aircraft layout, they have rotary or jet engines. This option is the most economical in terms of fuel and has a long range;
• Multicopters. These are propeller driven vehicles equipped with at least two motors, capable of vertical takeoff / landing, hovering in the air, therefore, they are especially good for reconnaissance, including in an urban environment;
• Helicopter type. The layout is helicopter, the propeller systems can be different, for example, Russian developments are often equipped with coaxial propellers, which makes the models similar to such machines as the "Black Shark";
• Convertoplanes. It is a combination of a helicopter and an airplane scheme. To save space, such machines are lifted into the air vertically, the wing configuration changes in flight, and an aircraft method of movement becomes possible;
• Gliders. Basically, these are devices without motors that are dropped from a heavier machine and move along a given trajectory. This type is suitable for reconnaissance purposes.

Depending on the type of engine, the fuel used also changes. Electric motors are powered by the battery, internal combustion engines - gasoline, jet engines - the corresponding fuel.

The power plant is mounted in the housing, it also houses the control electronics, controls and communications. The body is a streamlined volume to give the structure an aerodynamic shape. The basis of the strength characteristics is the frame, which is usually assembled from metal or polymers.

The simplest set of control systems is as follows:

• CPU;
• barometer for determining altitude;
• accelerometer;
• gyroscope;
• navigator;
• random access memory;
• signal receiver.

Military devices are controlled by a remote control (if the range is short) or by satellites.

The collection of information for the operator and the software of the machine itself comes from various types of sensors. Laser, sound, infrared and other types are used.

Navigation is carried out using GPS and electronic maps.

The incoming signals are transformed by the controller into commands, which are already transmitted to the executing devices, for example, elevators.

UAV advantages and disadvantages

Compared to manned vehicles, UAVs have serious advantages:

1. Weight and size characteristics improve, unit survivability increases, radar visibility decreases;
2. Drones are dozens of times cheaper than manned aircraft and helicopters, while highly specialized models can solve complex tasks on the battlefield;
3. Reconnaissance data when using UAVs is transmitted in real time;
4. Manned vehicles are subject to restrictions on their use in combat conditions when the risk of death is too high. Automated machines do not have such problems. Considering economic factors, sacrificing a few will be significantly more profitable than losing a trained pilot;
5. Combat readiness and mobility are maximized;
6. Several units can be combined into whole complexes to solve a number of complex problems.

Any flying drone also has disadvantages:

• manned devices have significantly more flexibility in practice;
• Until now, it has not been possible to come to a common solution to the issues of rescuing the vehicle in the event of a fall, landing on prepared sites, and the implementation of reliable communication at long distances;
• reliability automatic devices still much lower than manned counterparts;
• for various reasons, in peacetime, unmanned aircraft flights are seriously limited.

Nevertheless, work continues on improving technology, including neural networks can affect the future of UAVs.

Unmanned aerial vehicles of Russia

Yak-133

This is a drone developed by the Irkut company - an inconspicuous device capable of conducting reconnaissance and, if necessary, destroying enemy combat units. It is supposed to be equipped with guided missiles and bombs.

A-175 "Shark"

A complex capable of conducting all-weather monitoring of the climate, including on difficult terrain. Initially, the model was developed by AeroRobotics LLC for peaceful purposes, but manufacturers do not exclude the release of military modifications.

Altair

Reconnaissance and strike apparatus capable of holding out in the air for up to two days. Service ceiling - 12 km, speed within 150-250 km / h. On takeoff, the mass reaches 5 tons, of which 1 ton is the payload.

BAS-62

Civil development "OKB Sukhoi". In reconnaissance modification, it is capable of collecting versatile data on objects on water and land. It can be used for monitoring power lines, mapping, monitoring the meteorological situation.

Unmanned aerial vehicles of the USA

EQ-4

Developed by Northrop Grumman. In 2017, three vehicles entered the United States Army. They were sent to the UAE.

"Fury"

A Lockheed Martin drone designed not only for surveillance and reconnaissance, but also for electronic warfare. Able to continue flying up to 15 hours.

LightingStrike

The brainchild of Aurora Flight Sciences, which is being developed as a vertical takeoff combat vehicle. Develops a speed of over 700 km / h, can carry up to 1800 kg of payload.

MQ-1B "Predator"

The General Atomics development is a medium-altitude vehicle, which was originally created as a reconnaissance vehicle. Later it was modified into a multipurpose technique.

Unmanned aerial vehicles of Israel

"Mastiff"

The first UAV created by the Israelis was the Mastiff, which flew in 1975. The purpose of this vehicle was reconnaissance on the battlefield. Stood in service until the early 90s.

"Shadmit"

These devices were used for reconnaissance in the early 80s, when the first Lebanese war was going on. Some of the systems used transmitted intelligence in real time, some simulated an aircraft invasion. Thanks to them, the fight against the air defense system was successfully fought.

IAI "Scout"

"Scout" was created as a tactical reconnaissance vehicle, for which it was equipped with a television camera and a system for broadcasting the collected information in real time.

I-View MK150

Another name is "Observer". The devices were developed by the Israeli company IAI. It is a tactical vehicle equipped with an infrared surveillance system and combined optoelectronic filling.

Unmanned aerial vehicles in Europe

MALE RPAS

One of the recent developments is a promising reconnaissance and strike vehicle, which is being created jointly by Italian, Spanish, German and French companies. The first demonstration took place in 2018.

Sagem Sperwer

One of the French developments, which managed to prove itself in the Balkans at the end of the last century (1990s). The creation was carried out based on national and European programs.

"Eagle 1"

Another French vehicle designed for reconnaissance operations. It is assumed that the device will operate at altitudes of 7-8 thousand meters.

HALE

A high-altitude UAV that can climb up to 18 kilometers. In the air, the device can last up to three days.

In general, France takes the leading role in the development of unmanned aircraft in Europe. New items constantly appear around the world, including modular multifunctional models, on the basis of which various military and civilian vehicles can be assembled.

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