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Main War — Poseidon drones for 318,000 euros are at service in Ukraine. What other drones did Ukrainian defenders receive from Western partners?

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Poseidon drones for 318,000 euros are at service in Ukraine. What other drones did Ukrainian defenders receive from Western partners?

02 Aug, 2022
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Poseidon drones for 318,000 euros are at service in Ukraine. What other drones did Ukrainian defenders receive from Western partners?

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By the materials of dev

H10 Poseidon Mk II drones have entered service in Ukraine. The price of one is 318,000 euros. They have high protection against enemy electronic warfare and a 40x zoom camera. H10 Poseidon Mk II. Range of work up to 150 kilometers. The height of work is up to 4000 meters. Cruise speed 75 km/h. This was announced by deputy Petro Poroshenko, who paid half of the amount for the drones together with the Public Affairs NGO.

Bayraktar from Turkey

Bayraktar TB2 is a strike operational-tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed in Turkey. Able to accelerate to 200 km per hour and climb to a height of more than 8 km. "Bayraktar" drops aerial bombs and guided anti-tank missiles. At the same time, the drone can be in flight during the day.

Ukraine signed an agreement to purchase Bayraktar TB2 from Turkey in early 2019. And in the spring of 2021, UAVs made their first flights over the eastern territories of our country.

Ukraine has both versions of Bayraktar: drones that operate at a range of 150 km, and those with a range of 300 km. Bayraktar TB2 UAVs also feature a high-precision optical targeting system. They are equipped with an infrared and electron-optical camera, a laser rangefinder.

Bayraktar TB2 reconnaissance and strike drones can destroy everything: for example, various anti-aircraft missile complexes of the "Grad" or "Buk" type, as well as tanks, and entire convoys of equipment. Even with the older version (which has a range of 150 km) it is possible to maintain a constant rotation in the air and quickly advance to launch a missile when a target is detected.

One "Bayraktar" can carry two UMTAS-guided anti-tank missiles (laser guidance and launch range from 0.5 to 8 km) or four Roketsan MAM-C, Bozok or Roketsan MAM-L planing corrective high-precision aerial bombs (capable of hitting moving and stationary targets on distances up to 8 km).

Ukraine ordered 50 drones even before the war, Lithuania gave another one, Ukrainians bought three Bayraktars, and currently the Poles, Norwegians and Canadians are collecting such UAVs for us.

Switchblade from the USA

Switchblade is a product of the American company AeroVironment. There are two versions of the intelligent ammo: Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600.

Once launched, this drone can change target priority. The operator can choose the target of damage or launch the kamikaze drone in general in the mode of free flight, that is, reconnaissance. In this case, the drone flies to the target area, searches for the target, and takes appropriate actions on its own.

They can be controlled at a distance of up to 40 km and can stay in the air for up to 40 minutes. The so-called "six hundredths" model is effective against enemy tanks, rocket launchers and artillery.

According to the Ministry of Defense, 100 units of kamikaze drones will be sent to Ukraine. And Ukrainian UAV operators have already completed relevant courses. 100 units is a sufficient number to significantly improve the results of the Armed Forces at the time of liquidation of the heavy equipment of the occupying country.

Quantix Recon from USA

The Quantix Recon UAV is a lightweight, fully automated reconnaissance aerial vehicle that delivers operational intelligence using georeferenced, high-resolution images of terrain, vegetation and infrastructure. Its photos have a high resolution: the UAV is equipped with 18-megapixel RGB and multispectral cameras.

The developer of these drones is AeroVironment, an American defense contractor mainly dealing with UAVs.

Notably, the Quantix Recon is not detected by radars. And it also provides accurate and fast transmission of intelligence in remote, hard-to-reach areas of battlefields and changeable weather.

The device can explore up to 1.6 square kilometers or 20 linear kilometers in 45 minutes of flight on one battery.

AeroVironment does not disclose the price of the Quantix Recon military UAV. However, there is a civilian version of such a drone, it costs at least $16,500. You can buy these only on specialized sites in the USA.

Autel from Estonia

350 Autel drones were sent from Estonia to Ukraine. Of these, there are 50 Autel EVO II 640T Dual UAVs with thermal imagers and additional batteries, as well as 300 Autel EVO Lite+ UAVs.

Autel drones can lift a load of about 800-900 grams to get a normal distance and not damage the device too much. You can hang more on it, but you have to consider that this will overheat the motors and the battery.

In addition, Autel with thermal imagers is better than similar models from DJI, and allows you to get good results. The cost of these devices is 7,000–8,000 euros.

Bivoj from the Czech Republic

Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images

Bivoj is a combat remote-controlled drone. It weighs 25 kg and has a wingspan of 3.3 meters. It can stay in the air for up to 6 hours, considering the design features of the so-called negative wing. The drone is compact, easy to move, and does not require a paved surface.

Drones function as a so-called machines with delayed ammunition. It is used as a scout to observe and correct artillery fire. Designers have also developed an intervention version that can carry ammunition.

Even one person is enough to work with a UAV, if the drone is configured with an autonomous pilot, it knows where to fly and what its tasks are.

Czechs collect money for drones and other items to help the Ukrainian military on the website zbraneproukrajinu.cz. All donations go directly to the account of the Embassy of Ukraine in Prague.

Warmate from Poland

On July 13, a fund-raising campaign for Polish-made Warmate kamikaze drones for Ukraine began in Poland.

The drone manufacturer, WB Electronics, agreed to help organize and transport the drones to Ukraine.

As part of the "Polish combat drones for Ukraine" campaign, the organizers hope to collect four million zlotys. As of the time of writing, more than 30,000 zlotys have been collected.

A Warmate is a barrage munition (that is, one that can hang in the air for a certain amount of time). It makes it possible to destroy the enemy's equipment at a greater distance, and simplifies the process of identifying and impressing the target, if compared with ATGM.

The Warmate shock air system in version 3.0 has improved parameters - particularly, an increase in radio communication range and operating range. The drone can stay in the air for up to 70 minutes and is equipped with a low-noise engine.

British drones

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, including kamikaze drones. There are three types of kamikaze drones in service with the British army: Spike NLOS, Switchblade and Drone40, already known by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Here is what is known about them.

Spike NLOS is a weapon from the Israeli company Rafael. It proved its high efficiency during the war for Nagorno-Karabakh. It is designed to destroy targets at a distance of up to 32 km, and the guidance is carried out by the operator in online mode, which makes it possible to conduct preliminary reconnaissance, determine a higher priority target and destroy it. In fact, it is not known whether Israel will permit the re-export of such weapons to Ukraine.

Drone40 is an Australian miniature barrage munition that is fired from standard 40mm under-barrel grenade launchers. It is known that the British military used it in Mali, and several hundred such drones were provided. But most of them were equipped with video cameras, although the DefendTex manufacturer also produces them in shock versions.

Defends Express experts also name the FireShadow barrage munition as a possible candidate. Deliveries of this kamikaze drone allegedly started back in 2016, but then the project was canceled.

The weight of such a drone is up to 200 kg, the operational radius is up to 100 km, and the time in the air is up to 6 hours. This kamikaze drone can hit air defense systems, communication points, EW and RTR stations.

SkyStriker of the Israeli company Elbit Systems was actively used in the war for Nagorno-Karabakh. The SkyStriker can stay in the air for 1-2 hours, depending on the warhead, weighing 5 or 10 kg. The control range of the SkyStriker is undisclosed, but it is also designed to deliver high-precision strikes against the enemy's close rear. But here, the issues of permission for re-export have not yet been closed.


The Odessa Journal

The Odessa Journal

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