Behold this drone-dropping rifle with two-mile range
- Reference: 1656352393
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/06/27/ukraine_drone_rifle/
- Source link:
The Antidron KVS G-6 is manufactured by Kvertus Technology, in the western Ukraine region of Ivano-Frankivsk, whose capital of the same name has twice been subjected to Russian bombings during the war. Like other drone-dropping equipment, we're told it uses radio signals to interrupt control, remotely disabling them, and it reportedly has an impressive 3.5 km (2.17 miles) range.
"We are not damaging the drone. With communication lost, it just loses coordination and doesn't know where to go. The drone lands where it is jammed, or can be carried away by the wind because it's uncontrollable," Kvertus' director of technology Yaroslav Filimonov said. Because the downed drones are unharmed, they give Ukrainian soldiers recovering them a wealth of potential intelligence, he added.
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In a Radio Free Europe [2]video demonstrating the rifle's claimed capabilities, Filimonov said the gun's simple aim-and-shoot design was made to be easy to operate "even in a stressful situation." All of the rifle's components are hidden inside a plastic frame with a battery attached in a fashion similar to a magazine. The gun can disrupt 2.4GHz and 5GHz remote control and video transmission, GPS L2 (and L1) and GLONASS signals, according to the maker. It also has disk, amplified, and directional antennae.
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Eighty [5]KVS G-6s have been manufactured since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Kvertus said, and over 100 more have been ordered. Filimonov said many of the orders have come from "volunteer organizations, donors and businesses buying our devices for military units fighting at the front."
We note that Kvertus has been offering the Antidron device since at least January this year, prior to the start of Russia's illegal and bloody invasion of Ukraine in late February. The rifle costs $12,000 apiece, and looks more solid than the [6]janky homemade Russian one that popped up in May.
[7]Nothing says 2022 quite like this remote-controlled machine gun drone
[8]Chinese drone-maker DJI denies aiding Russia's Ukraine invasion
[9]Maxar Technologies: The eye in the sky tracking invasion of Ukraine
Drones have been central to the Ukrainian and Russian efforts in the war, with both sides fielding craft for various purposes. "It's a new kind of war," Filimonov said. "Many tasks are done by drones, like correcting artillery fire, dropping explosives or reconnaissance."
Along with operating its own aerial drones, Ukraine has also fielded a remote-controlled [10]ground drone equipped with a 7.62mm machine gun. The Guardian said the US has also supplied Ukraine with at least 700 Switchblade [11]kamikaze drones with ranges up to 25 miles.
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On the Russian side, Chinese drone maker DJI [13]allegedly aided the Kremlin by disabling Ukrainian users' ability to detect drones with DJI's AeroScope software, while Russia was able to use the product. DJI has since [14]suspended operations in Russia and Ukraine.
America's use of high-powered drones is also well established, and DARPA's latest plans for drone warfare could see them being [15]recharged in flight , greatly extending operational ranges. DARPA has also considered [16]silly-stringing drones to death. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YroogNLBDlW7wurMDyR1xAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-anti-drone-gun-russia-war/31912255.html
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YroogNLBDlW7wurMDyR1xAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YroogNLBDlW7wurMDyR1xAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.kvertus.com/products/drone-jammer-kvs-antidron-sg-6/
[6] https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/russian-backed-separatist-shows-off-questionable-homemade-counter-drone-jamming-gun
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/16/ukraine_machine_gun_drone/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/29/dji_denies_aiding_russia/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/01/maxar_satellite_imagery/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/16/ukraine_machine_gun_drone/
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/15/war-enabling-not-war-winning-how-are-drones-affecting-the-ukraine-war
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YroogNLBDlW7wurMDyR1xAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/29/dji_denies_aiding_russia/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/27/dji_suspends_russia_and_ukraine/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/14/darpa_drone_wireless_charging/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/darpa_antidrone_system/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "lean" innovation
I now "support"* Russia due to the overwhelming abundance of people who take no action to help the Ukraine but go on and on and on and on as if they do. That said, I do support Ukrainians who further technology to defend themselves and I hope they can keep developing the tools to continue defending themselves without the reliance of my country (USA) or any other country. To me it's a true sign of being worthy of independence.
* as much as most realistically support the Ukraine.
Re: "lean" innovation
What exactly are you complaining about, people who say "I support Ukraine" but aren't going there to fight themselves or finding a way to bring Ukrainian refugees into their home?
Or are you just a pro-Russian troll looking to claim like you see both sides, when really you want Putin to get one last win before he hopefully dies in terrible pain from his rumored blood cancer.
Re: "lean" innovation
“The lessons of WWII that produced the AK47, which was copied from the German Sturmgewehr 43 and 44.”
FTFY :)
Tubes
I can't help but wonder if old school tech could make these for $500. Various kinds of vacuum tubes are simpler and more compact for high power output in the GHz range than semiconductors. They're essentially electron beam whistles. Magnetrons, klystrons, certain forms of Marx Generators, etc.
Re: Tubes
Depends on what methods you intend to use for jamming, louder isn't always better the cat and mouse game that jamming represents. That said the use of analog booster circuits is reasonable when they are pushing that kind of range, even if they have a digital controller generating the source signal. Probably a big loop Yagi under the hood, wonder what the side lobes look like on a radio plot.
But for as long as it works, they may as well make the best of it.
Re: Tubes
Yes, but jamming your own equipment also, may be a problem.
"The drone lands where it is jammed, or can be carried away by the wind because it's uncontrollable,"
Unless it costs more that $50 from a toy store, and has the ability to autonomously navigate, and fall back to a IMU guidance when GPS is lost...
fair, but
Like the other nation state drone EW attacks that have been successful, if you dither the signals instead of squashing them the drone has a hard choice. Trusting the less reliable inertial data, or a potentially spoofed control/glonass/gps signals. The onboard computers of much more expensive drones have fallen to such attacks. Cough SENTINEL! cough.
I can't be alone in thinking this but does anyone else think this is a proxy war to test out new hardware. We have this drone-dropping rifle. We have had super tanks and missile defence systems. Also, western countries are climbing over themselves to supply weaponry. Realistically when there is a war if you supply weapons for one side you are with that side and fair game for being attacked.
"lean" innovation
The Ukrainian engineers are demonstrating exactly what this term is supposed to mean. In the field you don't want politicians and generals impossible wishlist but something that works as simply as possible and is as cheap to make as possible.
Ukraine still needs lots of financial and military (anti-aircraft defences would be good) aid but have from the start demonstrated that they have remembered the lessons of WWII that produced the AK47.