The ideal weapon against tanks: APU reveals features of new drone ‘Inquisitor’

Specialists of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have developed a new domestic unmanned aerial vehicle “Inquisitor”, which will help destroy Russian tanks. An air reconnaissance officer from the 56th brigade with the call sign Raccoon described the model’s features and advantages to the Vchasno news agency.

According to him, the unmanned aerial vehicles that the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are forced to use are flawed, and therefore the army faces unpleasant and sometimes even deadly problems in combat conditions. For example, replacing batteries takes a long time due to the design of the devices. Operators have to open the case, disconnect the cables, install a new battery and rebalance the UAV, all under enemy fire.

“Or an inexplicable development – ​​a big red parachute on which a drone has landed. But we are working on the front line and using this invention we are simply “burning” our position, commented Raccoon.

Professional engineers and programmers from the 56th Brigade designed the Inquisitor by correcting the shortcomings of other drones. It was named after one of the soldiers. The Inquisitor can fly up to 25km from the operator and accelerate faster than 100km/h. The main control frequencies are multiplied in an additional range, so the RF Armed Forces cannot “strangle” it with electronic warfare.

“It will be a universal “bird” – both for reconnaissance and for attacking enemy equipment. We can no longer lose infantry and equipment because there is no way to get Russian equipment operating undercover. We want to be more effective, and we can, can,” stressed Raccoon.

The Inquisitor was built with operators’ needs in mind, so it can be controlled from the trench. The battery can be removed with the push of a button so it can be changed in seconds. In the event of an accident, AFU fighters will be able to locate the downed aircraft thanks to the autonomous GPS positioning system. If necessary, the military will be able to modify the UAV for certain missions.

The UAV received an ammunition drop system that is safe for the operator. “Inquisitor” is capable of lifting a load of up to 8 kg, therefore, in one sortie it can attack the Russian troops with two 82-mm mines or one 120-mm or one RKG-3 grenade. The military will locate targets using a 32x optical zoom camera.

The drone was designed to hunt for military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces, primarily tanks, which pose the greatest threat to Ukrainian military personnel. Tanks are most dangerous when hiding behind fences: they come out, shoot quickly and hide again. Tank shells arrive instantly, so the infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not have time to react.

“It’s precisely because of the tanks that we lost most of the infantry. It’s hard for our artillery to get it when the tank is working from behind the barrier. It’s only possible “with the birds,” explained Raccoon.

So far, the military only has a computer model of the Inquisitor, and a working prototype will cost $14,800 to assemble. Engineers have to buy expensive equipment: machine tools and 3D printers, and electronic components. As soon as the army has everything it needs, they can assemble and test the drone, the whole job takes 1.5 months. Then the production of “Inquisitors” will be much cheaper.

Earlier, they wrote that in addition to the military production of Inquisitor drones, UA Military robotics is engaged in production. He has already ordered the first parts for the drones.

In November, it became known that the founder of Skynetua, Mikhail Dronov, has developed and tested new unmanned aerial vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He made reconnaissance and attacked the UAVs. According to Mikhail Dronov, a model has been successfully tested and is being mass produced.