Russia’s ‘Sirius’ Prototype Heavy Attack Drone Caught on Camera
A Russian motorist near Ryazan (southeast of
Moscow) recorded a video earlier this year of an unusually large,
low-flying drone with a V-shaped tail and wings spanning a
whopping 23 meters from tip to tip.
This was a rare sighting of a “heavy attack” drone
that was developed by Russian drone-maker Kronshtadt prior to Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine. It’s called the Sirius, named after the brightest start in the sky.
Sirius was intended as a higher-performance, twin-engine successor to the single-engine
the Orion UCAV, which saw
combat use earlier during the invasion.
Sjekk video her: https://tinyurl.com/3dx2dcyy
Samuel Bendett, an expert on Russian uncrewed systems
and AI at the Center for Naval Analyses and the CNAS think tank, wrote to Pop Mech:
“Sirius is a pre-war legacy system, along with Helios long-range ISR drone and other Kronstadt projects. This is supposed to be one of the flagship projects to propel Russia into the rank of drone superpowers on the air with the US, Israel and China. Sirius is supposed to be a significant upgrade of Orion in practically all capabilities.”
A mockup of Sirius was displayed at the 2019 MAKS
airshow, while construction of a flying prototype began November of 2021. While originally
planned to enter service in 2023, it instead made its first flight on February
27, according to a leaked Pentagon report.
Key changes include much greater range, and
support for a satellite
communications (SATCOM)
antenna that will allow for remote control over huge distances.
It also can carry heavier, harder-hitting bombs
and missiles ordinarily reserved for manned warplanes. That supposedly includes
1,100-pound class RBK-500U cluster bomblet dispensers and destructive
ODAB-500PMV fuel air explosives. The drone also benefits from a ground-mapping
Synthetic Aperture Radar that can help generate terrain maps, as well locate
ground-vehicle and artillery targets.
Sirius will supposedly come in three variants—one
for attack, one for reconnaissance only, and one for maritime patrol. The last
submodel, operated by Russia’s navy, is intended to have payloads for
anti-submarine ops, search-and-rescue, maritime reconnaissance, and signal-repeater duties.
Production will begin at a facility in Dubna (55
miles north of Moscow).
Sources: Popular Mechanics;
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.