Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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The Russian company that gave the world the iconic AK-47 assault rifle has unveiled a suicide drone that may similarly revolutionize war by making sophisticated drone warfare technology widely and cheaply available.

The Kalashnikov Group put a model of its miniature exploding drone on display this week at a major defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where the world’s arms companies gather every two years to show off and market their latest wares.

The tiny item was dwarfed by the tanks, armored vehicles and fighter jets that were also on display. But it has as much potential to change the face of war as its older cousin, the AK-47, widely referred to simply as the Kalashnikov.

With its low price, high efficiency and ease of use, the Kalashnikov rifle became the weapon of choice for revolutionaries and insurgents around the world, empowering disgruntled citizens against their governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It remains a potent tool to this day: The Pentagon purchases secondhand Kalashnikov rifles for its allies in Syria and Afghanistan, rather than give them more expensive American-made guns.

The Kalashnikov drone — officially named the KUB-UAV — will likewise be simple to operate, effective and cheap, its manufacturers claim — and just as revolutionary. It will mark “a step toward a completely new form of combat,” said Sergey Chemezov, chairman of Russia’s state-owned Rostec arms manufacturer, which owns a controlling stake in Kalashnikov, according to Kalashnikov’s news statement on the launch.

The KUB is four feet wide, can fly for 30 minutes at a speed of 80 mph and carries six pounds of explosives, the news release says. That makes it roughly the size of a coffee table that can be guided to explode on a target 40 miles away — the equivalent of a “small, slow and presumably inexpensive cruise missile,” according to a report by the National Interest website.

Whoever buys one will have the ability to steer a bomb with a high degree of accuracy unparalleled except by some of the U.S. military’s smartest bombs, said Nicholas Grossman, a professor of international relations at the University of Illinois and author of the book “Drones and Terrorism.”

“I think of it as democratizing smart bombs,” he said “It means disseminating smart bombs more widely. This would shrink the gap between the most advanced militaries and the smaller ones.”

Suicide drones are not new. The Islamic State pioneered the art of attaching explosives to commercially available drones and detonating them on advancing troops and enemy bases during the battles for the cities of Mosul and Raqqa in Iraq and Syria.

Russian troops in Syria were targeted by the biggest-ever suicide drone assault in Syria last year, when a swarm of more than a dozen crudely assembled devices incorporating explosives and GPS guidance systems descended onto Russia’s Hmeimim air base in Syria.

The U.S. and Israeli militaries have incorporated suicide drones into their arsenals — but controls on the export of technology mean the devices aren’t shared outside a small circle of close allies.

The KUB drone will be faster and more accurate, and will deliver twice the explosive charge and have a greater range than any of the crude homemade devices that have been patched together by terrorists, according to the Kalashnikov representatives at the exhibition.

And unlike U.S. and Israeli exploding drones, the KUB will be “very cheap,” said one of the Kalashnikov representatives. He declined to name the price and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to communicate with the media.

The target market will be “smaller armies” around the world, he said, meaning the availability of the KUB will bypass controls imposed by the United States and its allies that are designed to keep weaponized drones out of the hands of their foes.

The potential for terrorists to use drone bombs to carry out attacks is one of the biggest worries surrounding the proliferation of the technology, experts say. Two such drones were used in an apparent attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in August. Recent shutdowns of airports in London, Dublin, New York and Dubai due to mysterious drone incursions demonstrate Western governments’ lack of readiness to address threats posed by drones, Grossman said.

Terrorists are more likely to continue to improvise their own ways of jury-rigging explosive drones using cheaply available commercial devices and their own bombmaking expertise rather than spend on a ready-made version, said Nick Waters, a former British army officer and drone expert.

The spread of kamikaze drones will also intensify efforts to counter them, Grossman pointed out. “This will definitely enhance the capabilities of various state and nonstate actors, but it’s not something that can’t be countered,” he said.

However, he added, “I’m quite nervous of the capabilities being unleashed without knowing where it will lead.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... 393eae9d50
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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shinzen wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 11:48 am It was only a matter of time. I'd be very surprised if the handheld EMP device market doesn't start to take off as well.
The KUB is four feet wide, can fly for 30 minutes at a speed of 80 mph and carries six pounds of explosives, the news release says. That makes it roughly the size of a coffee table that can be guided to explode on a target 40 miles away — the equivalent of a “small, slow and presumably inexpensive cruise missile,” according to a report by the National Interest website.
Yep, it was only a matter of time and the feds and states will start restricting them.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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Just what the world needs: A new, improved, affordable TRUE assault weapon any terrorist can buy. Kalashnikov makes US arms makers look moral and decent. At least THE|IR stuff requires a major government to purchase. I'll bet these things sell for thousands when US cruise missiles cost millions each.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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shinzen wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 12:14 pm Well. To be fair, it is a high capacity assault drone. Which nobody needs. Probably has a barrel shroud and a pistol grip controller too.
I agree it's a weapon of war and should have restrictions. The technology is out there, we know it's being used in Syria and only a matter of time before a terrorist cell uses one probably in Western Europe. A build similar to this, some Semtex and it would do a lot of damage.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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It's still cheaper to put a bomb vest on a child and send them to play with your enemy.

Makes the bomb drone seem almost ethical.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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The KUB carries far more C-4, farther, faster, and more accurately than the improvised suicide drones that the terrorists are cobbling together.
This device is clearly so that Russia can destabilize more of the world cheaply and easily. It won't be long before they will be GIVING it to thugs like Assad.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:10 pm The KUB carries far more C-4, farther, faster, and more accurately than the improvised suicide drones that the terrorists are cobbling together.
This device is clearly so that Russia can destabilize more of the world cheaply and easily. It won't be long before they will be GIVING it to thugs like Assad.
My guess is that they already do give this stuff away.

At some point, some group will use them against Russian troops or civilians and Putin will see it as the cost of doing business.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:10 pm The KUB carries far more C-4, farther, faster, and more accurately than the improvised suicide drones that the terrorists are cobbling together.
This device is clearly so that Russia can destabilize more of the world cheaply and easily. It won't be long before they will be GIVING it to thugs like Assad.
Probably already in the hands of Russian Spetsnaz troops disguised as Ukrainian rebels in eastern Ukraine. A few of those and you could take out airfields at commercial airports and at military air bases grounding aircraft except helicopters and VTOL jets.
Last edited by highdesert on Sun Feb 24, 2019 12:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Kalashnikov kamikaze drone

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BKinzey wrote: Sun Feb 24, 2019 4:01 pm I'd be surprised if DARPA doesn't already have something better.
They do. The problem is that the DoD budget pays big companies for (mostly) expensive items. Squad level drones are less expensive and really interesting.

The problem with this Kalashnikov drone is that it will be used against unarmed civilians (or US troops) by terrorists or Russian-backed mercenaries in the Middle East.

Putin has been on a "look at our great weapons" tour over the past year. The weapons are not that new or amazing, but he is trying to pretend that the Russian military is back on the main stage. He is driving up sales with his public relations campaign. After 2020, if Dems get more power, they are going to have to deal with this stuff.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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