Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
The Russian military has began fielding fully-autonomous variant of the Molniya on-way attack drone with no radio control link at all, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian expert in radio communications and electronic warfare, claimed on July 1.
In a post to Telegram, Beskrestnov said that the drone is only equipped with a camera and an artificial intelligence flight computer. No datalink for video transmission or control is installed.
After launch, the drone navigates autonomously via pre-programmed waypoints, then uses its onboard neural network to search for, lock onto, and strike the target with no operator in the loop, according to the expert, who noted that this makes the drone effectively invisible to most Ukrainian radio frequency-based drone detectors, and completely immune to electronic warfare means.
Beskrestnov added that his new variant of the Molniya been used by the Russian military extensively in the direction of Zaporizhzhia.
A photo shared by the expert on July 3 revealed that the alleged fully-autonomous variant is very much identical to the standard Molniya-2.
The drone has been nicknamed “the AK-47 Kalashnikov of drones” due to its simplicity, affordability, and battlefield effectiveness. It is powered by two electric engines, and made out of cheap materials like plywood, aluminum tubing and plastic.
While mainly used for one-way attacks with a warhead weighing three to seven kilograms, the Molniya-2 can be also used for reconnaissance. Its range is reported to be limited to around 20 kilometers, but that’s only when a datalink is used for control.
Just last month, the developed, Russia’s state corporation Rostec, unveiled an enlarged variant of the Molinya with double the engines. The variant, dubbed Molniya-13, can carry a payload weighing as much as 13 kg, which is more than 30 percent of the maximum payload of the Molinya-2. At the same time, the drone more than doubles the range to around 50 kilometers.
Beskrestnov’s latest claims may be exaggerated, or straight up made up to justify Ukraine’s increasing use of fully-autonomous one-way attack drones.
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