Russian drone will control a swarm of strike drones, source said
MOSCOW, (BM) – A few days ago, we published information that Russia is developing a supersonic drone called Thunder. We contacted our source in the Russian military-industrial production complex for more information. According to an informal conversation, he confirmed that Moscow is already developing a Russian drone. UAV Thunder will control a swarm of other drones that are also currently in production – Lightning.
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The Russian edition of TASS also writes about the capabilities of the Thunder drone. Russian journalists claim that the Thunder UAV will be able to control a maximum of ten other drones. The exciting thing, in this case, is that the Russian Airspace Force can fire the ten drones from a completely different place than the UAV Thunder.
There are speculations, quite logical, that the Russian Su-57 fighter will also control the swarm of ten Lightning drones. According to some military experts, 4 ++ generation fighters, such as the Su-35, will do the same.
What will UAV Thunder be?
UAV Thunder will be able to control each of the ten drones individually. In this way, he will be able to “send” one of his scouts to the front positions hoping that the enemy will open fire on him and thus unmask the part of the enemy air defense system.
The Thunder UAV will weigh about seven tons and deliver a payload of 1.3 tons within a radius of 800 km. The maximum altitude at which to fly expecting to be 12 thousand meters. There is still no clear information on armaments. Some military experts suggest that the Thunder UAV will be armed with air-to-ground missiles and KAB-250 and KAB-500 bombs.
The drone will have a total of four suspension points – two locate under the wing consoles and the other two in the fuselage of the unmanned aerial vehicle.
Russia is gradually gaining momentum in the development of UAVs
Although it has lagged behind its competitors in recent years, we can conclude that Moscow is beginning to catch up with this lag in terms of the development and production of combat drones.
Russia is already testing the Orion drone on the battlefield. In addition to being filmed at his Kmeimim airbase in Syria, sources suggest that Orion has been and continues to be involved in combat operations, thus passing tests.
Okhotnik’s development is also in full swing. This drone is emerging as the future of the Russian flock of attacking drones. It is said to be the “loyal wing” of Russian Su-57 fighters. According to unofficial information, Russia expects to have three more prototypes of this model soon.
BulgarianMiliter.com reminds you that Okhotnik had already made its first flight in 2019. Some claim that Moscow also tested the prototype developed at that time in Syria. However, this information is unconfirmed. Russia plans to start operating Okhotnik this year.
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