Small unmanned transport planes, made in Russia
The Russian industry Kronstadt, a branch of the Moscow-based aerospace and defense holding Oboronprom, has developed a new remote controlled drone, or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for military purposes.
The new Dozor-3, otherwise called Dozor-600, is a miniature plane with a total takeoff weight of 600 kilos (hence the name), capable of carrying up to 100 kilos of weaponry, technical equipment for recognition or military material in general.
Dozor-3 can also be equipped with photo equipment and cameras (both normal and infrared for night view) to carry out aerial reconnaissance tasks. The Russian Army has decided to upgrade its current stock of unmanned planes for this kind of reconnaissance and aerial views, in the wake of the conflict with Georgia over the region of South Ossetia in summer of 2008, when the efficiency of military operations (though victorious in the end due to the overwhelming superiority in terms of numbers) has been severely slowed down because of lack of reliable intelligence.
Therefore, the Army should order, in the near future, at least 100 UAVs and 10 ground guidance systems, in order to support and gradually replace the currently used Tipchak, which did not perform as expected on the Georgian theater.
While the Tipchak is launched by a mechanical catapult with an operating time of approximately 3 hours, the Dozor-3 can take off like a normal plane, using short runways on tarmac or grass, with a 6-hour range, therefore its operating range is double compared to the Tipchak’s 40 km.
Furthermore, the Russian government has recently purchased from an Israeli manufacturer 12 more UAVs, with an order exceeding 50 million dollars in value.
