I am surprised at how many were amazed at the meeting with the President of the Russian Federation on the development of combat unmanned aircraft, during which Putin mentioned 2,000 UAVs in service with the Russian Armed Forces.
In a strange way, this meeting and these words still excite the minds and create a resonance. Although, in fact, it is not entirely clear why all this excitement.
Indeed, in fact, as of 2021, Russia neither had nor does not have serial production of serial shock UAVs.
Russia has an armada of UAVs of exceptionally light, reconnaissance vehicles, yes – it’s true. Apparatuses that are easily knocked off not only from MANPADS, but also from small arms.
In turn, in the Russian troops there are absolutely no medium and heavy attack UAVs that could compete, for example, with the Bayraktar TB2 and perform similar functions in a similarly complex and hostile environment with the presence of enemy echeloned air defense.
Today in Russia there is no serial production of piston and turboprop engines for UAVs. There is no concept of UAV expertise as such. Even the most elementary is missing – the concept of using UAVs in conditions close to or equivalent to combat ones.
When it was announced about the conclusion of a contract for the supply of shock UAVs Orion, it was even ridiculous. And not even because literally in 2019 one of these vehicles crashed during tests in the Ryazan region.
Firstly, all Russian media announced that this UAV passed successful combat tests in Syria. Successful combat trials in Syria? Against the rebels, who do not even have MANPADS in service, not to mention full-fledged short- and medium-range air defense systems, as well as electronic warfare?
What funny combat tests …
Here Bayraktar TB2 passed full-fledged “tests” in Syria, Libya, Karabakh, destroying not only equipment and manpower, but also air defense systems, as well as electronic warfare. And on October 26, 2021, Bayraktar TB2 was first used in the Donbas, going deep into the airspace of the occupied territory and destroying the 122-mm D-30 howitzer of the invaders.
Secondly, in order to start producing the Orion UAV, the construction of the first Russian UAV serial production plant in Dubna was launched. The launch of production was promised, by the way, for November 2021, and the cost of the project cost the budget of the Russian Federation more than 4 billion rubles.
That is, in order for the production to pay off with such investments, the order of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the Orion UAV should be in the hundreds! So far, what is known about the fact that the Russian army intends to purchase a dozen or more Orion UAVs, which is not only negligible for the Russian army, but also economically unprofitable, taking into account the funds invested in the plant and the payback of even the production itself.
Therefore, we can talk about Russian drones, but not drums. Today it is a piece product in Russia and not fully tested, raw and full of defects that are worth fixing.
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