Unmanned aerial vehicle with capabilities of large aircraft. Defense Ministry tells about Raybird UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become an integral part of Ukrainian intelligence. Among them is the Raybird UAV, the appearance of which led to the reformatting of all existing classifications of UAVs.
This is reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
It is noted that this small aircraft (up to 25 kg) can perform tasks that are usually subject only to much larger complexes.
"This is a reconnaissance aircraft that can stay in the sky for up to 28 hours and cover a distance of up to 2,500 km. Thanks to such characteristics and a compact form, it has the ability to bypass enemy air defense systems and zones of active electronic warfare in order to conduct high-quality visual reconnaissance from a height of up to 5.5 km and perform other tasks," the report says.
Thanks to its modular design and compact size, the UAV can be used for various missions, does not require special conditions for takeoff and landing, and has a high degree of repairability - in fact, damaged parts can be replaced in a few minutes.
Payloads that can be replaced in one minute:
- gyro-stabilized multi-sensor suspensions with a laser target designator;
- cameras;
- synthetic aperture radars (SAR);
- various types of loitering munitions.
- FPV-copters
The basic Raybird model was developed back in 2016, and in 2018 the ACS-3/Raybird aircraft complex was adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has been constantly improved and modernized since then.
The "highlight" of one of the latest versions of the complex was the integration of a laser guidance system for corrected munitions, which operates with an accuracy of up to a meter. This is the only drone in its class that has such a system. And its effectiveness has already been proven in real combat. Laser targeting works at a sufficiently far distance from the target to accurately hit it and at the same time preserve the system's carrier," the Ministry of Defense says.
Let us recall that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have allowed WINFLY unmanned aerial systems of Ukrainian production to be used.