Russia is developing a helicopter drone to destroy other drones

MOSCOW — Russia is developing a helicopter drone to assist anti-aircraft weapon systems in their counter-UAV mission. The project, accelerated shortly after the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in mid-2020, will fill a gap in Russia’s military capabilities.

The new drone will “track down small and low-speed enemy drones at low and extremely low altitudes,” a source in the military-defense complex told the Russian government news agency RIA Novosti this month.

The source said the helicopter drone has been under development since November, adding that research and development efforts were accelerated in response to the “increasing role of attack drones during the last local conflicts.”

He didn’t provide specifics, but various types of Turkish-made drones were used during the Azeri-Armenian conflict and helped Azeri forces break Armenia’s defense.

According to the source, the new model will be developed using existing technology to speed up manufacturing. But senior military analyst Mikhail Khodaryonok, a former colonel from the Soviet air defense force, is skeptical about the use of helicopter drones in the air defense mission.

“It has to carry a lot of equipment and it will be costly. It is better to use classic land-based radars, which can be more accurate,” he told Defense News.

Defense News reached out to the Russian government for more information but did not receive additional details.Read more…