Unmanned aerial vehicles

For a start, a little mate. part

There are unmanned aerial vehicles:
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* unmanned unmanaged
* unmanned automatic
* unmanned remotely piloted aircraft (RPV)

Unmanned aerial vehicles can be divided according to such interrelated parameters as mass, time, range and altitude. There are the following classes of devices:

* "Micro" (conditional name) weighing up to 10 kilograms, flight time about 1 hour and altitude up to 1 kilometer,
* "Mini" - weighing up to 50 kilograms, with a flight time of several hours and a height of up to 3 - 5 kilometers,
* medium (midi) - up to 1,000 kilograms, a time of 10-12 hours and an altitude of 9-10 kilometers,
* heavy - with flight altitudes up to 20 kilometers and flight time 24 hours or more.

To determine the coordinates and ground speed, modern UAVs usually use satellite navigation receivers (GPS or GLONASS). Orientation and overload angles are determined using gyroscopes and accelerometers. Software is usually written in high-level languages, such as C, C ++, Modula-2, Oberon SA or Ada95. As hardware, as a rule, specialized computers based on digital signal processors or PC / 104, MicroPC computers are used. Real-time operating systems such as QNX, VME, VxWorks, XOberon can also be used.

And I would like to consider three similar heavy RPVs X-45, nEUROn and MiG “Skat”

X-45C (Boeing)

X-45 - multipurpose UAV. The first flight performed in 2002. During the first flight of 14 minutes, an altitude of 2500 m was reached and a speed of 360 km per hour. The X-45A took off from Edwards (California) air force base and landed at NASA research center Dryden. Built two models of X-45A. The last flights of these vehicles were carried out in 2005, after which the UAVs were transferred to museums.

The Pentagon plans to use systems created on the basis of the X-45 to solve two problems:

* suppression of the air defense system (as they say in the United States, the task of the first day of the war);
* strikes against targets covered with a strong air defense.

In both cases, it is planned to use drones for immediate action on remote theaters (the predetermined system deployment time at any airfield of the planet is 32 hours, readiness for take-off after the transfer is 75 minutes). Developed in two major versions of the X-45C and X-47B.

* Wingspan 10.3 m
* Length 8.08 m
* Mass 3630 kg (empty), 5528 (maximum)
* Honeywell F124-GA-100 turbine engine, or GE F404-GE-102D turbine (depending on version)
* The maximum speed of 890 and 1010 km / h (depending on version)
* Practical range 2400 and 1,850km (depending on version)
* Ceiling 10.670 and 13.720 m (depending on version)
* Load capacity 2041kg
Armament: 2 x JDAM (905 kg) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) - a set of equipment that converts existing free-falling bombs ("stupid" bombs, eng. "Dumb bombs") into all-weather adjustable (eng. "Smart") ammunition.

nEUROn (Dassault Aviation)

The French project gradually grew into a pan-European and received the name Neuron (nEUROn). Sweden, Italy and Spain, who have decided to use their own UAV experience in the interests of the common cause, have already joined it, as well as Greece and Switzerland. The neuron is performed according to a concept close to that implemented on the US X-45 and X-47, but its take-off weight is still estimated at 6-8 tons. Recently it became known that after last year’s loss of a prototype in Germany it was decided to abandon the further development of the program The UAV of the Barracuda, which debuted at the Berlin Air Show in May 2006, is now considering the possibility of joining the pan-European program of a promising combat drone (most likely, the Neuron program).

* Wingspan: 12.5 m
* Length: 9.5 m
* Weight: 6000 kg
* Speed ​​950

Skat (MiG)

Perspective heavy unobtrusive combat UAV, designed to destroy, in the face of strong opposition of enemy anti-aircraft weapons, pre-explored stationary ground targets, primarily air defense, as well as the destruction of mobile ground and sea targets when conducting both autonomous and group actions in conjunction with manned aircraft . Takeoff and landing - in an airplane. The BLA is performed in an unobtrusive “flying wing” pattern without tail.
* Wingspan 11.50 m
* Length 10.25 m
* Mass 8000 kg (empty), 10,000 (maximum)
* RD-5000B engine 5040 kgf
* The maximum speed of 800 km / h
* Practical range 4000 km
* Ceiling 12 km
* Load capacity 2000 kg
Armament: two air-to-surface missiles or anti-radar missiles (Kh-31P); two adjustable aerial bombs with calibers of 250 and 500 kg.
X-31P Supersonic aircraft missile with a passive radar homing head designed to destroy the radar controls of enemy air defense systems, including the radar radar anti-aircraft missile systems of medium and long range "Patriot", "Improved Hawk", "Nike Hercules", etc.



But in the news about our UAV several times I met the following opinion of foreign publications:
“There is still ambiguity regarding many details of the design of the device. The absence of a tail unit on a UAV assumes the presence of an electronic flight control system, unlike conventional UAVs, where remote control of the device is possible. The development of an automatic electronic control system is a significant problem for Russia, with its limited ability to develop its own software, states the commentary. ”
Are we all so bad with military programmers, if we have any?