Which Deadly and Sophisticated New Drones Will Russia Roll Out in 2024?
16:44 GMT 14.01.2024 (Updated: 16:57 GMT 14.01.2024)
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Moscow must always outpace its competitors in the field of drone warfare, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week.
President Putin noted that there are still many goals to accomplish in the field of drone development and that it is important to be one step ahead of the opposition during a meeting with the representatives of Russian Far East Federal District this week.
The president made these remarks following reports that the Russian Armed Forces will be bolstered by the addition of new advanced drones this year. The additions seek to afford Russian troops fresh capabilities for reconnaissance, long-range strikes and counter-battery operations
New Models
According to Soviet and Russian Army veteran and military expert Ret. Col. Andrei Koshkin, the new additions to Russia’s combat arsenal will include UAVs such as Lastochka (Swallow) strike drones, FPV drone Upyr and upgraded FPV drone Rusak, as well as the Zhuravl (Crane) UAV complex and “various kamikaze copters.”
“Obviously, all these drones are being tested on the battlefield and all recommendations made by their operators, all recommendations from soldiers in the field, their requirements for the drones – these recommendations are taken into account and get implemented in direct interaction mode,” he said.
Koshkin specifically praised two drones, the S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) developed by Sukhoi and the Inokhodets (Pacing Horse).
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© Sputnik / Russian Defense Ministry
In this handout video grab released by the Russian Defence Ministry, a Russian new Hunter jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle drives on the tarmac at an unknown location in Russia. Editorial use only, no archive, no commercial use.
Unmanned aerial vehicle "Lastochka-M" at the arms exhibition as part of the anti-terrorism exercises of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) "Peace Mission - 2021" at the Donguzsky training ground in the Orenburg region, Russia.
An Orion-E unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is displayed at the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon, in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia.
An X (formerly Twitter) screenshot of Russia's Upyr drone.
Inokhodets (Pacing Horse) UAV
1/5
© Sputnik / Russian Defense Ministry
In this handout video grab released by the Russian Defence Ministry, a Russian new Hunter jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle drives on the tarmac at an unknown location in Russia. Editorial use only, no archive, no commercial use.
Unmanned aerial vehicle "Lastochka-M" at the arms exhibition as part of the anti-terrorism exercises of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) "Peace Mission - 2021" at the Donguzsky training ground in the Orenburg region, Russia.
An Orion-E unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is displayed at the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon, in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia.
An X (formerly Twitter) screenshot of Russia's Upyr drone.
Inokhodets (Pacing Horse) UAV
The S-70, he noted, can carry up at least three tonnes of payload and its technical characteristics are comparable to those of the Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation multirole fighter jet.
“Basically, this is the kind of craft that can conduct the most difficult of tasks when it comes to strikes,” he remarked, arguing that Russia now has at its disposal the kind of unique drones on a par with the US drones like Global Hawk that the United States has long been proud of.
Okhotnik weighs 20 tonnes, has a range of about 3,500 kilometers and can stay in the air for over a day without refueling.
Inokhodets, Koshkin explained, is a colloquial moniker for the Orion drones such as Orion, Orion 10 and Orion 30.
Russian troops in the Ukrainian conflict zone, he said, have already become quite fond of these drones that can operate at an altitude of up to 7,500 meters at a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour and can carry a 100-kilogram fragmentation bomb like FAB-100.
He observed that FPV drones saw extensive use in the Ukrainian conflict by both Russian and Ukrainian troops, and the aforementioned Upyr, which can reach a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour and still retain “stable controllability,” has become quite a boon to Russia’s forces.
“It (Upyr) can complete missions up to 10-12 kilometers deep behind enemy lines, which is important. Upyr can carry a payload of up to 2 kilograms: a rocket-propelled grenade or even an RKG-3M hand grenade,” he remarked.
Koshkin also argued that the Russian Lastochka drone is superior to its US analog Switchblade, and that various Russian companies are each developing their own drone models such as Voron, Luch and Veda, for the Russian army’s needs.
Lastochka is a small strike drone that can carry up to 1.5 kilograms worth of explosive payload and whose advantages include advanced guidance systems and a simplified launch procedure (the drone is launched directly from the container it is transported in).
“What matters is that drones’ capabilities are being improved all the time,” he noted.
Russia's Drone Warfare Will Advance
Regarding other advancements in Russia’s drone warfare capabilities, Koshkin said that Russian companies work on improving the “quality, effectiveness, quantity” of their creations.
“Today, drone ‘swarms’ are actively being used, which allows for the overwhelming of enemy anti-aircraft defenses, even those designed to combat low-altitude drone attacks, like twin-linked machine guns, for example,” he said.
Koshkin further insisted that the quantity and the quality of the drones provided to Russian forces would determine the effectiveness of these troops in the field, as it would allow “artillery crews, tankers and infantry to have their eyes on the battlefield.”
“And this would determine the success of making decisions to engage in battle and to conduct combat operations. This is where power resides: in the numbers and the quality of these drones,” he explained.
He added that the importance of drone warfare in the Ukrainian conflict zone in 2024 will only increase since Western sponsors of the Kiev regime are aware of the fact that Russia has total drone superiority in certain areas and will attempt to address this matter. Russia, in turn, will work towards countering the West’s efforts.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Prokhvatilov, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, pointed out Russia’s use of Geranium drones whose latest versions feature anti-radar coating.
“If you recall the images of their (Geranium) later models, the ones painted black – this is ‘paint’ is a special coating that helps diffuse radar waves. It makes our drones much more effective as they are much more difficult to shoot down,” he said.
