Doesn't the PLA have a similar suicide drone system but it's launched by portable racks that shoots them out by the bucket load? Like 30 in 1 salvo.
The War in the Ukraine
- Thread starter SampanViking
- Start date
25 kg payload is small for strike assets, even anything more than a single ATGM. On the other hand 25 kg can handle some decent targeting equipment like a laser designator, rangefinder, electronic compass, satellite navigation and communications. This will allow it to designated both laser guided rounds and relay coordinates.
Yep but I believe these are more for massive and persistent recon rather than strike. A flying asset is much more valuable for its recon capabilities than as a very expensive 40 mm grenade.
It's why I was talking about soft targets... I would not put costly subsystems but the bare minimum to be able to designate targets. It's way bigger than smaller drones and probably way easier to bring down than a smaller quad with designator brimbal. They sell some nice Migen drones on Alibaba...
Even for the softest target 25 kg is really small compared to what can be brought down with artillery.
A dumb shell only costs 100 USD or so, yet can be targeted to coordinates, which can be found with the combination of sighting the target (telescope or IR), own position (Beidou), angle to target (compass) and range to target (rangefinder).
I just think it'll be more economy of force to use cheap drones for persistent recon rather than as strike assets.
Still 700km is farther than any shells... Sure it's puny but to puncture a fuel tank, destroy a radar dish, screwing a power transformer facility in Russian territory, give him way greater means to piss them off than a 155m shell.
Most airdefense belong to 1980s to early 90s tech. only S-350/ Pantsir SM can be considered 21st century. but they are too few. if drone flow below certain altitude and small rcs. most of air defenses will not be able to engage.
I doubt even AAM can intercept below 15m.
you can read next generation MICA missile.
ATGM have warheads around 6-9kg. 25kg is a very big payload, you could easily derail a train car with that much HE, or 5 smaller warheads to cover a greater area in an anti personnel role.
All those systems you've mentioned don't weigh much at all, a few kg at most. There could be an issue with volume if they are off the shelf components but not weight.
The Ukrainian army attacked the Russian Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery in the Rostov region with the help of a drone. As a result of the strike, a fire broke out at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, as reported by the media, there were two drones, the fire started when one of them crashed into the structure of the plant. There is a fire at an oil refinery
contained, no casualties.
contained, no casualties.
To be fair, Indian and Vietnamese Sukhois and Vietnamese anti-ship missiles and Kilos are much more costlier to Chinese than a few commercial drones that are probably purchased by Ukraine before the war through means in other names.
Most importantly, Ukraine got these things from commercial market through various channels and many of them before the war. China is not selling weapons.
China can refrain from allowing any more export, but there is nothing China did wrong.