Drones in War
Ukraine: Aerorozvidka 3D-Printed Drone
With batteries from e-cigarette lighters, this almost DIY drone poses problems for Russia
Aerorozvidka (“aerial reconnaissance”) is a team and NGO that promotes creating and implementing netcentric and robotic military capabilities for the security and defense forces of Ukraine. Aerorozvidka exemplifies the direct engagement of civil society in resisting foreign aggression against Ukraine, and specialises in aerial reconnaissance and drone warfare. (Wikipedia)
The group uses 3D printers and e-cigarette batteries to build do-it-yourself drones that report Russian positions, deliver ammunition and attack adversaries with grenades.
The unit uses a range of drones, many of which are commonly available store-bought drones that they adapt and militarise, including Chinese DJI drones, Autel drones, French Parrot drones, and others.
The ‘home built’ R18 Drone design has been a particular success.
The R18 is capable of dropping grenades from a height of 100–300 m, hovering over the target. Soviet cumulative anti-tank grenades RKG-3 or RKG-1600 are used as bombs. Since the R18 drone is equipped with a thermal imager, its attacks are unpredictable and effective. — aerorozvidka.ngo
Specifications
Here’s a summary of the key numbers:
- Total weight — 17 kg including payload of up to 5 kg and batteries 5.5 kg
- speed — 12 m/s
- radius of action — 5 km
- flight duration — 45 minutes
- overall dimensions — 1200x1200x400 mm
- battery type — Li-ion 32500mah x 2
- CEP (circular error probable) 1 metre from 300 metres altitude
- maintenance cycle: 40 missions
Components
Parts such as the propellers are produced using 3D printer units; the lightweight support arms for the eight motors are made, apparently, from carbon fibre and epoxy wound round formers. Motors, controllers, comms equipment and thermal imagers are readily available commercially.
Payload
The drone is used for ammunition delivery, surveillance and as a bomber. It is equipped with a thermal imaging sensor.
To use the R18 drone as a bomber, Soviet RKG-3 HE anti-tank grenades are used. They weigh 1.03 kg including parachute (for top attack of armoured targets). The RKG-3 grenade’s shaped charge warhead can penetrate over 220mm of steel. Ukraine replaced the parachutes with plastic fins.
Alternatively, the R18 may be armed with three of Ukraine’s own RKG-1600 bombs which weigh 1.6 kg each.
Targets
Either bomb type is capable of neutralizing lightly armored vehicles and even tanks which are susceptible to ‘top attacks’. There are claims that R18 drones were responsible for many tank-kills during the first days of the 2022 invasion on the Kyiv road.
NATO tanks store their ammunition in a ‘bustle’ behind the turret. The bustle has ‘blowout panels’. Russian tanks store their ammunition internally, which is why we see so many videos of Russian tanks having their turrets blown off.
Tactics
The R18 is usually deployed at night when it is optically invisible to the enemy and less likely to encounter small arms fire. It is deployed by small teams of 3 to 4 which include a launcher and controller.r
Cost
This is quoted as $45,000 on the aerorozvidka website, which invites donations. I was surprised that the cost was so high given that it apparently uses widely available components, but other research suggests that they cost $20,000 to build.
Controversy
Putin has commented publicly about commercial satellite networks being used in the war and that they might be legitimate targets for his forces.
Since then there have been reports that ‘Starlink’ satellites are used in the control links to R18s. Elon Musk has ordered that the linkage be disabled as he considers it an offensive use of his satellite constellation.
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