UAVs - the invisible threat
Unmanned aerial vehicles in many countries of the world are recognized as the most modern weapons. Russia, which due to certain circumstances has lagged a bit behind in the development of the UAV, is currently trying to reduce this lag. Of course, the role of this type of technology in the conduct of modern wars is difficult to overestimate, but at the same time, excessive reliance on them can also turn into big problems and frustrations.
Despite the fact that unmanned aerial vehicles have gained great popularity in our time, their story began before the outbreak of World War II. It all started in the UK, where in 1920 a UAV program was developed and quite successfully implemented. The work was carried out in three main areas: "flying target", "weapon carrier" and "air torpedo". As a result, the variant of the “flying target” turned out to be the most successful - the devices that became the first “waterfowl” drones.
A compact control system was developed, which included a ground and airborne kit. Initially, a not-so-small aircraft was selected for testing - the Fairey IIIF, which, at the same time, had certain advantages (there was enough space for installing the necessary equipment, good bailout ability, and floatability). In addition, this scout was the main aircraft not only on navybut also in the air force.
The first radio-controlled aircraft, called Fairey Queen, failed to pass the test, crashing. A few years later, all the flaws were corrected, and in 1933, the plane not only successfully took off, but also did not land less successfully.
Later, during the exercise, the plane was still shot down. So I had to look for cheaper options. The choice fell on de Havilland, the aircraft, which differed in low weight. On this base, the cheapest carrier was developed, which was successfully tested and launched into mass production, called the Queen Bee. It was released more than 4 hundreds of UAVs, which are actively used not only by the British, but also by many armies in the world. After the war in Great Britain, the “heir” of this device appeared - Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp, but this option was unsuccessful. This was the main reason for the cessation of work on the development of waterflight drones.
Further development of this type of military equipment is associated with its land version.
In many countries, the military have placed high hopes on drones, wishing to realize their ambitions with their help: to hit the enemy from long distances, while remaining invulnerable, to destroy the enemy immediately after detection ...
The capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles, just like their value, in the leading armies of the world are continuously increasing. Moreover, for many of them, a large number of devices of this class has been a visiting card for quite a long period of time. As for the Russian armed forces, the choice of UAVs was not very diverse, because miscalculations in science and leadership did not contribute to the development of this type of technology. At the same time, information on the regular procurement and combat use of Western-made drones forced the military department to pay attention to the fact that this industry is not developing enough in the country. It must be noted that against the background of this information, which is increasingly appearing in the media, the expectations placed on drones are clearly too high. It can be explained very simply - people who have vast experience and knowledge in other industries often judge a new type of military equipment solely through advertising.
Of course, unmanned aerial vehicles have a large number of advantages, and this should not be denied. The emergence of this technology has allowed to make a real revolution in the organization and conduct of hostilities, significantly reducing the time between the detection and defeat of the enemy. Moreover, this gap in certain cases is reduced to several seconds. And it is precisely in this reduction that lies the main advantage of the Western armies, which are capable of striking enemy targets before they can respond.
But at the same time, the development of the UAV is also a weak point of even the most developed armies. And the threat in this case lies in the fact that all these armies, which actively use drones, have not yet had practice in confrontation with the enemy, which has modern radar equipment in service. In the event that such equipment is put into practice, the adversary is quite likely to interfere with communications between the apparatus and the command center, which will entail serious consequences, because large groups of troops using UAVs will be left without real information from the battlefield.
But even despite the potential danger posed by the excessive use of UAVs, it is simply necessary to have them in service. But the Russian army, unfortunately, uses them to a much lesser extent than the rest of the developed armies of the world. For the time being, the Russian military leadership can only dream of the possibilities that, for example, the armies of the United States of America or Israel have that use drones to carry out real-time air and artillery strikes and destroy the enemy’s targets.
It is obvious that all measures taken, including financing, cannot provide instant results - and the first domestic-made drones failed to pass the tests. Therefore, the devices began to be purchased abroad, in particular, in Israel. This made it possible to become familiar with the principles of use and technologies of these systems and expand the circle of developers. As a result, increased competition, which resulted in the emergence of devices that can pass the tests and be quite suitable for mass production.
Among the competing enterprises are a certain number of non-state enterprises, for example, the St. Petersburg Transas, which may well bring Russia into the group of leading states for the production of unmanned vehicles. And the only problem that exists in this plan today is the lack of time, which is simply necessary to obtain the necessary knowledge and competence, as well as in the presence of the state order. However, regarding the fact that the state order will be, there is no doubt, because the leadership is well aware of the need for the UAV to conduct local military operations and, moreover, has sufficient funds.
Yes, and somehow I do not want to lag behind America, especially if we remember that there is and will always be a rivalry between Russia and the United States over who has more authority and influence in the world.
At the same time, in America, the development of drones is set, as they say, "on a grand scale." In 2012 alone, the Pentagon requested $5 billion for drone procurement. And the American military leadership does not even stop the fact that drones, which are designed to destroy terrorists, killed thousands of civilians.
It is clear that such a controversial topic as the use of sawfields could not be ignored on the eve of the presidential election. During the televised debates between the candidates - Barack Obama and Mitt Romney - the use of drones was also touched upon. It is noteworthy that both candidates support the idea of actively using this type of weapon in the interests of ensuring state security.
This can not but alarm, because if you believe the statistics on the number of accurate drone strikes, which is conducted by the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the numbers simply terrify. Judge for yourselves: the civilians who died from the blows of drones "accidentally" are many times more than the number of terrorists against whom these devices, strictly speaking, are used. Apparently, the American leadership is not too worried about this circumstance, and they are quite satisfied with the "blind killer." Moreover, they are proud to use the UAV, because with their help you can destroy terrorists around the world.
At the same time, the attitude towards unmanned vehicles begins to change, and this happens all over the world. Simple civilian population asks to abandon them. The first bombing of Pakistan using drones, which was approved by Barack Obama, failed. Since then, people live in constant fear.
Organizations that oppose the use of drones are confident that a simple apology for "accidental" strikes is not enough. Some of them require the adoption of a law banning the use of UAVs, and are confident that only the accountability and transparency of policies should be a priority for the US government. Of course, at a time when every developed state is striving to strengthen its defense capability, there are no questions about the use of drones, because they are the most effective means of fighting against terrorists who pose a threat to civilians. But then how do the US military differ from the same terrorists, because they themselves behave exactly the same in Yemen and Pakistan?
Therefore, one should not be surprised that these and similar states are beginning to respond in the same way. So, in particular, the appearance in this plan is the appearance of a drone over the Negev desert in Israel, which was shot down by the Israeli military. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who is the leader of the radical Hezbollah movement, said that this device was launched by representatives of his organization. In a televised speech, he told that the drone was assembled in Lebanon, passed many kilometers over the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and many important Israeli objects. Sheikh also said that this flight was not the only and certainly not the last. In addition, given that Israel systematically violates the sovereignty of Lebanon, the latter has every right to conduct reconnaissance over the territory of the enemy.
According to experts, the emergence of drones for such radical organizations many times increases the threat of terrorist attacks, if only because the flying drone very easily turns into a bomb. At the same time, according to military expert Vladislav Shurygin, the presence of a drone and Hezbollah does not mean at all that other extremist organizations may have such weapons. Although…
In any case, the appearance of drones in free sale on the world market is a reason for the leadership of some states to think about whether they are acting correctly, or perhaps it is necessary to change their attitude to the rest of the world ...
Materials used:
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_10_04/Bespilotnie-apparati-ostorozhnie-nadezhdi/
http://aviaglobus.ru/2012/10/01/3739/
http://www.odnako.org/blogs/show_21322/
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_10_24/Amerikanskie-droni-volk-v-ovechej-shkure/
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