#问世百年的无人机在俄乌战场上为何成了防不胜防的杀器主角# Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are unmanned aerial vehicles operated by radio remote control equipment and their own program control devices. The world's first drone was invented by the British and was born in 1917.
Now, on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine, drones, which have been around for more than a century, are full of vitality and have become recognized as an important military killing weapon. Relying on its superior performance, it surpassed rocket artillery and missiles, and became the protagonist of the conquest. The actual combat application on the battlefield shows that UAVs have the advantages of low cost, easy operation and large effect. Compared with traditional manned aircraft and expensive missiles, the development and production costs of UAVs are relatively low. Moreover, drones are capable of performing some tasks such as bombing, assassination, reconnaissance, etc., which are difficult for traditional aircraft and missiles to complete. It can fly at high and low altitudes, its small size is good at navigating complex environments such as narrow terrain and dense urban buildings, and it can even fly into a house with a bomb and explode. The maneuverability and flexibility of the drone have made it used on a large scale on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine, and it has also significantly changed the form of military competition between the warring parties.
According to a comparative analysis by professional researchers, the cost of the "Shahed 136" suicide drone used by Russia is only $20,000, while the "Seahorse" rocket, which the United States is proud of, is worth about $150,000. In the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it is clear which is better and which is inferior. At present, various types of UAVs, including high-end, mid-range and low-end, are being used by both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield with more than one million launches, which is bound to have a profound impact on the direction of the battlefield.
Russia, in its special military operation against Ukraine, has repeatedly suffered losses from drones. A large number of media reports describe that in the process of Ukraine using drones to strike targets in Russia, although Russia uses air defense systems to intercept them, there are still often fish that slip through the net and take advantage of loopholes, and Ukrainian drones have appeared in the sky over the Kremlin. According to the "Reference News", Alexander Timokhin, a Russian expert on international and military issues, wrote an article in the Russian "Viewpoint" newspaper in January this year, pointing out that combat operations in Ukraine are triggering a military change. UAVs are beginning to become not only the main reconnaissance tool, but also replace artillery as the main striking force of the army. Tymokhin predicts: Perhaps in the near future, people will see motorized infantry brigades in the Russian army with a new look.
In the recent battle for Avdeyevka, drones once again highlighted their combat energy. During the second raid of the Russian army on the scrap yard near the Avdeyevka coking plant, the Ukrainian army was completely routed by the intensive attack of suicide drones (FPV). The Russian soldiers captured the scrap yard without bloodshed, and managed to gain a foothold before the Ukrainian army counterattacked. There is also information from the Ukrainian side that the Ukrainian army loses nearly 10,000 drones almost every month. This shows how huge the use of drones on both sides is in this engagement.
Looking at the development history of UAVs, it can be seen that UAVs can be divided into fixed-wing UAVs, rotary-wing UAVs, unmanned airships, parachute-wing UAVs, flapping wing UAVs, etc.; according to the activity radius, UAVs can be divided into ultra-short-range UAVs, short-range UAVs, short-range UAVs, medium-range UAVs and long-range UAVs; according to their uses, UAVs can be divided into military UAVs and civilian UAVs. Military UAVs are subdivided into: reconnaissance UAVs, decoy UAVs, electronic countermeasure UAVs, communication relay UAVs, unmanned fighters, suicide bombers and target aircraft, etc.; civilian UAVs are divided into: inspection/surveillance UAVs, agricultural UAVs, meteorological UAVs, exploration UAVs and surveying and mapping UAVs.
In the 40s of the twentieth century, UAVs began to be used as target aircraft in World War II to train anti-aircraft gunners, and from the mid-50s to the 70s of the twentieth century, UAVs were frequently used to perform military missions during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and even NATO's air raids on Yugoslavia. In the mid-to-late 60s of last century, the New Chinese People's Air Force shot down 17 US unmanned reconnaissance planes that invaded the mainland's airspace and publicly displayed the wreckage of the enemy planes, causing US imperialism to lose face.
After the 90s of the twentieth century, Western countries fully realized the role of UAVs in warfare and competed to apply high and new technologies to the research and development of UAVs. The new airfoil and lightweight materials greatly increase the endurance of the drone. Advanced signal processing and communication technology has improved the image transmission speed and digital transmission level of UAVs. The advanced autopilot allows the drone to no longer rely solely on land-based TV screens to pilot, but to fly to a designated place according to the program, and can also automatically change altitude and fly to the next target.
New China's first unmanned aerial vehicle "Beijing No. 5" successfully flew in February 1959, and in December 1966, the Changkong No. 1 unmanned aerial vehicle also made its first successful flight. In 1972, the mainland successfully developed the Wuzhen-5 UAV. In recent years, China's drone industry has shown explosive growth. Many drone companies continue to launch various types and functions of drone products. At the same time, China has also made remarkable achievements in the research and development, production and sales of drone technology, and has become an important member of the global drone market.
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