Soviet/Russian UAV and UCAV projects

in the early 1970s, the Kulon plant rolled out for testing the first prototypes of the Su-24 tactical bomber (in the parlance of the day - attack aircraft) and was preparing the T-4 ('100') long-range high-speed missile-carrying/reconnaissance aircraft. Work on upgrading the Su-15 interceptor and Su-17 fighter-bomber was also in full swing. In addition, the OKB was also designing the T-4MS ('200') multi-role strategic strike aircraft system, the Su-25 attack aircraft and the Korshun unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

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Matej said:

One interesting Sukhoi study (something like Boeing´s Sensorcraft) but what is on second picture?? It was named KORSHUN...

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flateric said:

From Oleg Samoilovich's 'Close to Sukhoi'

After T-4MC 'fiasco victory' in a timeframe of 1972-1974 Sukhoi OKB was involved in Soviet Air Force hi-ranked eggheads UAV-mania caused by US RAND eggheads publication that stated that USAF could not by any manned fighter in 2000 as military airplanes cost grew with astonomic speed, so all future belongs to cheaper UAVs.

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XP67_Moonbat said:

Does the Tu-123 YASTREB count?

That was a very impressive design, and the Tu-121 missile version was where the turbojet engine for the MiG-25 got its start at.*
Yastreb was used operationally over the Mideast; its forward section with the reconnaissance cameras and their film as well as SIGINT equipment detached and was landed by parachute... which was going to be how the never built recconasance variant of Snark was going to work also (on the missile version the warhead detached itself and fell on the target as the airframe pitched violently up and broke apart to provide radar clutter to confuse enemy SAMs)
The Soviets took a crack at designing a reusable version of the Yastreb with landing gear as the Tu-139 Yastreb 2, and although several prototypes were built and flown, it never entered service:
http://baike.zhige.net/uploads/201004/1271293569SGAqBCZJ.jpg

* The old "take expendable engine and turn it into operational engine" story that's happened a lot more than once in the history of aviation.

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flateric said:

OKB Sokol (Kazan) perspective strike UCAV. Found at www.missiles.ru

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Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi is to focus on creating reconnaissance and strike unmanned air vehicles (UAV) in the near future, United Aircraft Corporation President Mikhail Pogosyan said at the Zhuhai Airshow China exhibition on Tuesday.
MiG showed a demonstrator strike UAV design known as Skat at the MAKS airshow in Moscow in 2007.
Sukhoi, which has historically designed fighter and ground attack aircraft but now also builds some civil aircraft, is part of UAC, a holding covering most of Russia’s aircraft industry.
“UAVs are a strategic avenue for development for UAC, and Sukhoi is focused on creating reconnaissance and strike UAVs. But our firm plans on this are in the future,” he said.
Previous UAVs created for Russia’s amed forces have been produced by Tranzas and Sokol, in addition to Sukhoi.
Sukhoi has designs on its website for a series of unmanned aircraft known as Zond, optimised for the carriage of surveillance and synthetic-aperture radars and electro-optical sensors.
In 2011, Sukhoi won a contract to develope a heavy strike UAV with a mass of around 20 tons, Fedutinov said. Another Russian fighter aircraft design bureau, RAC MiG, will also be involved in this program, MiG’s CEO Sergei Korotkov told Russian media earlier this year.
St. Petersburg-based Tranzas and Kazan-based Sokol won a tender in October 2011 to create two UAV systems with a mass of one ton and five tons respectively.

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otxentero said:

Hi guys, in a recent visit of the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Shoigu, to Kazan some scale models of aircraft in development where shown, either UAV, etc. Among them there is a model of (apparently) a hypersonic bomber, as unveiled in this blog

http://charly015.blogspot.com.es/2013/02/diseno-no-identificado.html?m=0

I posted it here, regardless it doesn't seem to be the PAK DA. Could anybody help us to identify this project? Sorry if I posted it in the wrong place.

Regards!

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Trident said:

Agree, considering the other projects shown at the same event, I would expect this to be a new supersonic target drone from Sokol - it would fit both their product range and the configuration of the model quite well.

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Russia’s Defense Ministry has issued a technical specification for development of a strike unmanned air vehicle (UAV), Izvestia daily said on Monday quoting a high-level source.

Tranzas company will build the UAV's on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems. The airframe, which will weigh about five tons, will be produced by the Kazan-based Sokol design bureau.

The new aircraft will have a modular structure, the source said, and will be able to carry various types of equipment and armament.

Russia’s Defense Ministry sealed contracts worth an estimated 3 billion rubles ($101.9 million) with Tranzas and Sokol in October 2011 for research work into creation of strike and reconnaissance UAVs.

In late March, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, told Moscovsky Komsomolets tabloid that strike drones will enter service before 2020. He did not specify how many drones will be acquired.

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MOSCOW, May 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russian paratrooper divisions will receive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) within the next three-to-five years, Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov, Commander of Russia’s Airborne Forces, told journalists on Friday.

“UAV subdivisions already exist within the reconnaissance and special operations sections, in the artillery and the air-defense sections of the Airborne Forces. In line with accepted international practice, we intend to further develop the unmanned component of our forces,” Shamanov said.

He also said that it was the Defense Ministry’s decision to buy Israeli-produced drones that gave Russia the impetus to develop its own.

“Unfortunately, work to create our own UAVs immediately ran into lengthy delays. The Airborne Forces were, and will continue to provide a platform for experimentation in testing new forms of technology” Shamanov continued.

In January, Shamanov oversaw tests on a prototype Russian-made compact reconnaissance complex, named Seeker.

Seeker comprises a base station carried in a rucksack, a tablet computer showing images from the drones’ cameras which also serves as a control unit, and two T-4 unmanned aerial vehicles weighing 1.3 kilograms each.

With 40 minutes endurance, they produce their optimum picture at an altitude of 200 meters, but have a service ceiling of 4,000 meters. They have electric motors and a wingspan of 0.6 meters.

The approximate cost of the Seeker complex, with two drones, is about 3 million rubles, which at today’s exchange rates, works out at about $96,000.

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Trident said:

Agree, considering the other projects shown at the same event, I would expect this to be a new supersonic target drone from Sokol - it would fit both their product range and the configuration of the model quite well.

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