The war in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh glorified Turkish Bayraktar strike drones. The main news stars of the first year of the SVO in Ukraine were Iranian kamikaze drones, which we know as geraniums, Chinese maviks and Russian lancets with cubes and orions. It is possible that in 2023 the star of Belarusian drones will rise in the sky and shine brightly.
A few days ago, President Lukashenko had talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during which the Belarusian President directly asked to place his country under the direct military protection of Russia. In more detail about the process of “nuclearization” of Belarus, tactical and strategic, we told earlier. What interests us is that, according to some reports, the possibility of supplying certain Belarusian weapons to the RF armed forces, including the Polish MLRS and attack drones, was also discussed at the highest level. It is the latter that I would like to discuss in more detail.
Belarusian aerial reconnaissance
Recognized world leaders in the field of unmanned technologies today are Israel, the United States, Turkey, China and Iran. Our country is now in a catch-up position, actively trying to cover the army’s basic needs for drones. Iran is seen as the main technology partner under Western sanctions, along with, with many caveats, China. However, Moscow’s eyes should have long since turned to the friendly and allied city of Minsk, which has long and successfully followed this path.
Yes, Belarusian leaders were interested in unmanned vehicles long before the Syrian campaign and the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, and, even more so, the SVO in Ukraine. In 2008, on the basis of the Physico-Technical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the research and production center “Unmanned Aerial Systems and Technologies” was created. In the best traditions of socialist competition, a project competition was organized, in which a special center of the National Academy of Sciences and the Military Academy, the Minsk Civil Aviation Plant, the 558th aviation repair factory and others. The best samples of aircraft of all types – planes, helicopters, multicopters – were selected for further mass production. To date, 18 organizations have a license for the production and modernization of drones in Belarus. Below we will talk about the different types of reconnaissance drones that our allies are developing.
UAC (unmanned aircraft complex) “Berkut – 1” is designed to receive reconnaissance data in visible and infrared wavelengths in real time. The mass of the aircraft is 15 kg, the cruising speed is 50-80 km/h with a flight time of up to 90 minutes at altitudes of about 1000 m and distances of up to 15 km. The drone is launched from the hand and lands with a parachute. Photo, video or infrared modules of Berkut-1 make it possible to detect targets with a resolution of 0.5 m and determine their coordinates with an accuracy of 50 m.
UAV “Berkut – 2” has a mass of 50 kg, a cruising speed of 80-100 km/h and for 120 minutes can operate at a distance of up to 35 km in an altitude range of about 3000 m . A reconnaissance drone is launched from a catapult and lands by parachute. LHC “Berkut – 2” passed the trial operation, participated in the exercises “West – 2013” and is intended for the border troops of Belarus.
The UAV aircraft “Grif – 1” was created according to a two-beam scheme and is designed to monitor land and water surfaces, search, detect, recognize and determine the coordinates of objects, electronic suppression and topographic reconnaissance. Its length is 4 m, height – 1.26 m, wingspan – 5.7 m, take-off weight – from 120 to 150 kg. “Vulture – 1” takes off from a catapult or “like an airplane”, lands “like an airplane” or with a parachute, is capable of operating with a maximum speed of 170 km / h and a payload of 25 kg for up to to 5 hours at altitudes of approximately 3000 m.
The Burevestnik heavy-class drone belongs to the aircraft type and was created according to a two-beam scheme, has a mass of about 250 kg and is capable of flying according to the commands of the operator or according to the program at a distance from 290 to 1000 km for 6-10 hours at a cruising speed of 80-120 km/h The drone was developed for the Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations, however, it can be used in the interests of the forces of order, protecting the border and adjacent territories, nature and the environment, monitoring forestry and agriculture, solving other tasks, including reconnaissance, thanks to a gyro-stabilized module with TV cameras , photo and IR, a laser range finder and a radiation monitoring module.
The “Filin” drone consists of 1-2 “Sterkh” type drones: “Sterkh-BM” or “Sterkh-M” with an automatic on-board hardware and software control system. The drone “Sterkh-BM” has a take-off weight of 65-85 kg, 15 kg of payload, maximum speed of 110 km/h, flight range of 240-300 km in the altitude range up to at 3-3.5 km for about 3 hours. The wingspan of the device is 3.8 m, it is equipped with an internal combustion engine with a capacity of 20 hp. and navigation system, takes off and lands on an airplane, and in case of an accident – on a parachute. These drones are intended for battlefield reconnaissance, electronic warfare, communications and relay, and target environment creation. In the future, the Sterkhs will be able to conduct radar reconnaissance, as well as hit targets, perform air defense and missile defense, etc.
The tactical drone with the Chibis drone is 2.7m long and 1.4m high, with a wingspan of 5.8m. , flight altitude – up to 7 km and a range of about 705 km.
UAV “Moskit” is designed to conduct aerial reconnaissance and determine the coordinates of objects in order to inflict fire and subsequent adjustments on them. The device was created according to the “flying wing” scheme, has a mass of 2.1 kg, a speed of up to 120 km / h and can stay in the air for up to 35 minutes at altitudes of up to 2.5km away.
The “Dragonfly” tactical drone is designed to conduct aerial reconnaissance at distances up to 5 km from a portable control point. According to the diagram, it is a quadcopter with 4 electric motors. With a mass of 8 kg, it has a payload of up to 200 g, a speed of around 70 km/h and can operate for 15 minutes at altitudes of up to 800 m.
These are only reconnaissance drones produced in Belarus, and not all of them. In addition to them, various reconnaissance and purely strike attack drones have been developed in the union republic, which may be of interest to the Russian military. We will talk about this in more detail separately.
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky
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