The Armed Forces of Ukraine uses a large number of UAVs, so the Russians are looking for ways to deal with them. However, lauded remakes rarely reach mass production.
According to Russian media, the Russian Armed Forces is testing a new Burdock radar station on Ukrainian soil, designed to combat drones. The Military Review publication devoted an entire article to the device, stating that it will go into mass production. Focus To find out if Russia could put Burdock on the “conveyor” as they say, due to sanctions, staff evictions and lack of resources, Drone.ua’s founder turned to Ukrainian expert Valeriy Yakovenko. “
The history of the creation of anti-drones “Burdock”
In 2021, the Basic Technologies company from Moscow presented several versions of the small Volna small radar station, designed to search for small UAVs so that they can later be hit by fire or radio equipment. In the spring of 2022, it began small-scale production of the complexes and even sold several pieces to anonymous customers. Shortly after, employees from Basic Technologies started working at the Sestroretsk Arms Factory in Mytishchi, where they completed one of the Volna variants and installed a wearable radar called the Burdock.
According to the pro-Russian Telegram channel Reverse Side Of The Medal (RSOTM), the factory produced several prototypes that were sent for testing in Ukraine. While it is not known exactly what tests were done and how it ended, the channel published a photo of Burdock. Later, RSOTM noted that the stations were handed over to the units of the RF Armed Forces and installed in two sectors of the front, and the Russian army reported to the manufacturer about the experience gained.
Features of the radar station “Burdock”
The developers claim that when creating the Burdock radar, they used modern technologies and components, thanks to which they increase performance and efficiency, reduce size and energy consumption. The complex consists of a radar station, an active phased antenna array (AFAR), a tripod, a battery for 8 hours of operation and a control panel. The total weight is 25.5 kg, so Burdock can be easily transported and placement takes about 5 minutes.
As reported, the new radar emits narrow radio beams in the frequency range of 9.2-9.5 GHz and performs a circular space scan in azimuth with an elevation angle of up to 20 °. Detects drones with an effective dispersion area of up to 0.01 square meters. m at a distance of 10 km and an altitude of 5 km, if they move at speeds up to 150 km/h. The automation accompanies up to 256 objects, updates the data every 1.25 seconds and transfers them to the operator’s computer.
Will burdock radar interfere with drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Unmanned technologist Valeriy Yakovenko, founder of the Drones.ua project, in a comment Focus He noted that Russian propagandists regularly publish information about ambitious projects, but these are often to be understood “on the contrary.” A fair share of such messages is reserved for UAVs.
“The war for the freedom of the democratic world, in which Ukraine defends itself against the invaders from Muscovy, is called by many a “drone war”, in which drones are very actively used on both sides. There are many more drones in Ukraine, this Therefore, it is not surprising that the Russians are trying to somehow rectify this situation, either by creating certain technological complexes or simply distributing materials related to it,” he said.
As Yakovenko explains, the fight against drones has two aspects: detection (detection) and suppression. Drones are detected by standard electronic intelligence technology – they pick up electromagnetic signals at specific frequencies emitted by aircraft. Now this approach is rarely used in the world to search for small drones, but it can work for searching for large UAVs.
Burdock developers said their station works like a radar: they emit radio waves at certain frequencies and then measure how they reflect off objects. According to the expert, it is not yet possible to confirm whether the devices actually work.
“We describe some of the complex, necessary technological applications mentioned in the publications of the Russian media, and we do not see the complexity of this work. Given the frequency of publications in the “analog-net” style from the occupiers’ public relations experts, we do not see solutions that can be proven effective or scaled up on the current device, “said Valery.
It is difficult to manufacture high-tech equipment in Russia due to sanctions that limit the supply of components. According to the expert, even if the Russians manage to create a prototype or pre-production sample of the device, the lack of parts will not allow creating production lines and full-scale production.
Earlier, they wrote that the Russians began to protect their infrastructure from UAVs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the help of Serp-VS stations. It should detect and suppress UAVs at a distance of up to 3 km. The first such stations were installed at a number of fuel and power plants.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.