R18 | |
---|---|
R18 drone on exhibition, 2022 | |
Role | Unmanned aerial vehicle |
National origin | Ukraine |
Design group | Aerorozvidka |
First flight | 2017 |
Introduction | 2019 |
Primary user | Security & Defense Forces of Ukraine |
The R18 is a Ukrainian unmanned combat aerial vehicle designed to attack enemy targets with ammunition. It was developed by Ukrainian organization Aerorozvidka. The R18 is in service with the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has been ongoing since 2014.
In 2016, Aerorozvidka started a program to develop the prototypes of its unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2019, the model was tested and saw use during a special operation in the ATO zone. [1]
The R18 has both military and civilian applications. The octocopter is used for surveillance and search, delivering cargo, or inflicting damage. As of 2022, the last function in Aerorozvidka is called the most relevant because many other drones with cameras can collect information. [1] The complex is designed to destroy enemy equipment, small fortifications, and warehouses with ammunition. [2]
Combat use of the R18 started in 2019 during the Russo-Ukrainian War. [3] [4] [5] They work with the octocopter mainly at night, using the tactics of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The targets of drone attacks are mostly enemy cannons, tanks, [6] [7] armored vehicles, [8] and trucks. [2] [9]
On the first day of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022, one of the combat units prepared equipment and moved to the area of the airfield in Hostomel. Through horizontal communications, representatives of Aerorozvidka began to communicate with those involved in the events. On the first night, an R18 drone was used to inflict damage on paratroopers at the airport. [1]
As of July 2022, 20 crews of R18 drones are working on the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian War and have neutralized more than 100 units of enemy equipment. [2] In June, Aerorozvidka noted that the R18 is used by the Main Directorate of Intelligence, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other structures of the Ministry of Defense; National Guard; Security Service of Ukraine; other units of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine. [10] [11]
The R18 is a multirotor type unmanned aerial vehicle. It is an octocopter, that is, a multicopter with eight propellers. Accordingly, the drone has 8 electromotors. This number of electromotors provides greater reliability. The drone is capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Both Ukrainian and imported components are used in its construction. [1] [12]
External videos | |
---|---|
The Night Raids on YouTube // R18 actions during Russo-Ukrainian War | |
Cut down the Russian invadors on YouTube // R18 damaging during Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine | |
Exam on YouTube // Examination of the future R18 crew | |
Worked against the enemy on YouTube // R18 landing after fly |
To use the R18 drone as a bomber, Soviet RKG-3 HEAT grenades are used or RKG-1600 bombs created on their basis by gunsmiths of the Mayak plant (weight of one is 1.6 kg), [5] [13] [14] both of which are capable of neutralizing lightly armored vehicles with an attack from above. The accuracy of hitting with the RKG-1600 is one square meter from a height of 300 meters. [15] [16] The R18 is capable of carrying three such munitions. [3] [11] [9] It can fly up to 40 sorties without additional maintenance or repair. [2]
The training of one R18 drone pilot lasts from two weeks to a month. [2]
In 2020, tests of dropping new RKG-1600 training and simulation ammunition from an R18 octocopter took place during command and staff exercises at the base of the 235th interspecies training center for military units and units ("Shirokiy Lan" training ground). [16] It is noted that this was the first time when an Aerorozvidka attack drone was included in the combined combat training program. During testing, drone operators successfully hit all targets. [19]
Aerorovizdka independently collects funds from donations for the production of the R18. [2] [20]
According to Aerorovizdka, a feature of the use of R18 octocopters at the front in the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been ongoing since 2014, has been high payback. It is noted that with the help of relatively cheap equipment, it is possible to inflict significant losses on the enemy: [21]
«Ми розраховували, що $1, вкладений у виробництво дрона R18, завдає збитків на $1000 для ворога. Якщо дрон вражає таку техніку як танк, він окупається за один виліт. Адже знищена техніка коштує мільйони, а техніка, з якою ми працюємо, коштує десятки чи сотні тисяч.» | “We calculated that $1 invested in the production of an R18 drone causes $1,000 worth of damage to the enemy. If a drone hits a piece of equipment like a tank, it pays for itself in one flight. After all, destroyed equipment costs millions, but the equipment we work with costs tens or hundreds of thousands.” |
RKG-3 is a series of Soviet anti-tank hand grenades. It superseded the RPG-43, RPG-40 and RPG-6 series, entering service in 1950. It was widely used in the 1973 Arab–Israeli War and remained a common weapon into the 2000s and early 2010s, being favoured by Iraqi insurgents during the American-led occupation. Modified versions of the RKG-3 series have also emerged in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in 1992. It has been described as "one of the most brutally effective" of Ukraine’s front-line brigades.
The 54th Mechanized Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa is a brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, part of Operational Command East. The brigade is based in Bakhmut and was formed in 2014. The brigade fought in the war in Donbas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Russian occupation of multiple Ukrainian towns and cities, numerous cases of non-violent resistance against the invasion took place. Local residents organised protests against the invasion and blocked the movement of Russian military equipment. The Russian military dispersed the protests, sometimes with live fire, injuring many and killing some. Most of the large protests ended in March.
Aerorozvidka is a team and NGO that promotes creating and implementing netcentric and robotic military capabilities for the security and defense forces of Ukraine. Aerorozvidka specialises in aerial reconnaissance and drone warfare. It was founded in May 2014 by a team which included Ukrainian battalion commander Natan Chazin. Its founder, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was an investment banker who was killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2015.
The 2022 Chornobaivka attacks were a series of Ukrainian attacks against the Russian-held Kherson International Airport at Chornobaivka, which began on 27 February 2022 during the southern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chornobaivka, located in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, saw dozens of attacks on Russian positions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces following a bombing and takeover by the Russian Armed Forces of the town's airport.
UkrSpecSystems PD-2 is a Ukrainian multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is designed for air reconnaissance and for combat use as a carrier of bombs with warheads weighing up to 3 kg. The aircraft can take off from a runway, or be equipped with removable modules for vertical take-off and landing.
The 102nd Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces is a military formation of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is part of Operational Command West. The full name of the Brigade is the 102nd Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces named after Dmytro Vitovsky.
The People's Satellite is an ICEYE satellite acquired by the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Novopil is a village in Volnovakha Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The population was 253 people according to the 2001 census. Now is under Russian occupation during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Special Operations Center "Omega"(Ukrainian: Центр Спеціального Призначення «Омега»), also known as the Omega group, is a special forces unit that is part of the National Guard of Ukraine. Originally intended for counterterrorism and bodyguard missions, the group has gained extensive combat experience conducting ambushes, raids and reconnaissance missions while behind enemy lines in Kharkiv and Donetsk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization that specializes in helping the Ukrainian Defense Forces and civilians affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is engaged in the purchase and supply of vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, thermal imagers, radios, equipment, mobile healthcare, module housing, school shelters, humanitarian demining and medicines.
MAGURA V5 is a Ukrainian multi-purpose unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developed for use by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) capable of performing various tasks: surveillance, reconnaissance, patrolling, search and rescue, mine countermeasures, maritime security, and combat missions.
Andrii Serhiiovych Skibin is a junior lieutenant of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His significant contributions to aerial reconnaissance during the Russian-Ukrainian war were highlighted by President Volodymyr Zelensky in his TV address to the nation.
SHARK(Ukrainian: ШАРК) is a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle created by the Ukrspecsystems company for monitoring and adjusting fire on the battlefield. The UAV is equipped with a highly reliable communication module, which allows it to penetrate into the enemy's rear up to 80 km under EW conditions. The Full HD optical-electronic surveillance complex with 30x optical magnification and an additional 3x digital zoom enables surveillance at a distance of up to 5 km from the drone to the target.
Brave1 is a Government of Ukraine platform to bring together innovative companies with ideas and developments that can be used in the defense of Ukraine, launched on 26 April 2023.
Favbet Foundation is a one of the largest charitable foundations in Ukraine, founded in 2020 to develop sports and educational infrastructure for Ukrainian children. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the charity focused on the help to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Territorial Defense Forces and humanitarian aid for citizens affected by the Russian-Ukrainian War.