Ukrainian drones: Turning outdated weapons into deadly arsenal
Ukrainians are continuously searching for affordable and reusable methods to eliminate Russian soldiers using drones. Although it still requires improvements, one of the most intriguing options is mounting firearms on drones. Here's how this might work.
12:52 PM EST, November 26, 2024
Ukrainians are extensively using drones not only to target Russian vehicles but also individual soldiers. It's worth noting, however, that in recent months, China has reduced the supply of components necessary for drone production, leading to noticeable challenges in providing a sufficient number of drones.
These drones cost about $1,000 each or less, and an effective means of attack is needed. For this purpose, Ukrainians primarily use outdated weapons such as bomblets from incompatible cluster munitions that are several decades old, hand grenades, or rifle grenades like the Polish PGN-y. However, this is not enough; Western cluster warheads are sometimes dismantled.
Simultaneously, work is underway to adapt drones to carry rifles because they would enable engaging the enemy for proverbial "pennies" and create reusable weapons. For example, a single 5.56x45 mm NATO round on the civilian market costs about $0.50. Below, you can see one of the many recent recordings of a drone armed with an AK-74 rifle executing a skimming flight over Russian trenches along a tree line.
Drones with rifles — when a science fiction vision becomes reality
Theoretically, it's feasible because FPV drones capable of carrying a lightened PG-7VL grenade weighing about 5 pounds can also carry an AK rifle, especially if it's stripped of unnecessary elements such as the stock, handguard, or pistol grip, reducing the rifle's weight from nearly 7 pounds to about 4 pounds.
Such a rifle attached to a drone, even when using zip ties, can be effective as a suppressive fire weapon for, say, an assault group, functioning as a drone version of direct air support. In such a situation, Russians are less likely to emerge from hiding, making the assault team’s work easier.
In this mode of operation, accuracy is not much emphasised because the rifle would need to be mounted in a two-axis stabilized mount with a system for dissipating recoil energy. Additionally, the drone would require an advanced system based on artificial intelligence algorithms for target tracking and the capability to measure the distance to the target and adjust the gun angle using a ballistic computer.
Only with such a package could there be discussions about more or less accurate shooting at detected targets. In field conditions, this probably won’t be feasible, but it is already possible for a design to be created from scratch.
