Which countries currently have better drones?

United States:

The United States has always been at the world's advanced level in the development of drones. The number of models and types is the largest in the world. At present, the world is mainly concerned about the Cormorant, a new type of drone that can be launched from a submarine, developed by Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works" in the United States. The aircraft has an overall length of 5.8 meters, a wingspan of 4.86 meters, and a take-off weight of slightly more than 4 tons, including a payload of 453 kilograms. The air inlet of the machine is located at the nose of the machine and is shaped like a triangle. At the same time, because the fuselage is made of titanium alloy, its body is extremely strong and can withstand pressure equivalent to a water depth of 50 meters. In order to increase the concealment of flight, the appearance of the "Cormorant" drone also adopts a stealth design. The "Cormorant" is expected to have a maximum flight speed of 880 kilometers/hour, a cruising speed of 550 kilometers/hour, a maximum flight altitude of 10.7 kilometers, a combat radius of 926 kilometers, and a sustainable flight of 3 hours. It can be equipped with short-range weapons and reconnaissance equipment and is used by the U.S. Navy's "Ohio" class nuclear submarines.

"Cormorant" is an exploratory direction for the development of U.S. drone tactics. If the development of the "Cormorant" goes well, the U.S. Navy can equip the "Cormorant" drone as early as 2010.

At the same time, the US military is developing a new generation of high-altitude and high-speed reconnaissance aircraft SR-72 "Black Swift". This new type of reconnaissance aircraft is the successor of the famous SR-71 "Blackbird" high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, but it flies faster, with a maximum speed of more than 5 times the speed of sound. In addition, the SR-72 also has stealth capabilities and extremely long range endurance, which can meet the needs of global reconnaissance. It will monitor the world together with the U.S. U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, "Global Hawk" strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and reconnaissance satellite systems. It is also an important part of the U.S. global rapid strike plan. High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft fly over reconnaissance targets with their complete photographic equipment and take high-resolution ground pictures, which is of great military significance. Since high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft fly higher than most fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles, and fly faster than missiles, they are rarely hit. Currently, only the United States has dedicated high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft in the world.

Israel:

The Israeli Air Force has always been the leader in using drones for combat. Drones first played a decisive role in the war during the Battle of the Bekaa Valley in 1982. During the war, Israel used its own self-developed scout drone as a bait to enter the sky above the Bekaa Valley to lure Syria's Sam- 6 anti-aircraft missiles were fired, and many parameters of the SA-6 missile radar were measured at the same time. Based on these parameters, radio suppression of the Syrian air defense positions was carried out, and the results were one-sided. The Battle of the Bekaa Valley can be said to be the first demonstration of the role of drones in modern warfare.

Currently, the Israeli Air Force is receiving more attention from the Heron TP drone (called "Etan" by the Israeli Air Force) developed by Israel Airlines. It is currently the largest drone in the world. The wingspan size of this model is the same as that of the Boeing 737 passenger aircraft produced by Boeing Company in the United States. The fuselage is 14 meters long and the wingspan reaches 26 meters. It can fly continuously for more than 20 hours and has a endurance of More than 30 hours; after being equipped with satellite communication equipment, the combat radius exceeds 1,000 kilometers, and it can conduct aerial reconnaissance of its old enemy Iran. Equipped with a 1,200-horsepower turboprop engine, the flight speed exceeds 370 kilometers per hour. Moreover, the turboprop engine has good high-altitude performance, allowing the "Etan" to fly at an altitude of 13,700 meters. In 2008, "Etan" has set a flight altitude record of 12,190 meters, and the final target will reach 15,240 meters. Its main purpose is surveillance and reconnaissance, and with a payload of 1 ton, it can also carry other equipment to perform different tasks. Therefore, this UAV has the potential to perform new missions. It can effectively attack the nuclear facilities of its old enemy Iran. It can complete various tasks such as reconnaissance, destroying enemy communications, and connecting ground command and manned fighter jets. At the same time, the aircraft can be equipped with missiles. , carry out precise strikes against enemy targets.

Russia:

The development of Russian drones began in 1930, and has roughly gone through the development of strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft - tactical unmanned reconnaissance aircraft - operational and tactical unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. The three development stages have accumulated experience and laid a foundation for the development of drones. In the early 1990s, due to problems such as lack of funding, the development of Russian drones began to reach a low point. At the same time, the drone technology of the United States, Israel and other countries has begun to surpass Russia. However, in recent years, the Russian military has continuously increased its investment in the research and development of drones. Relying on its strong industrial foundation and the technical strength of some well-known aircraft design bureaus in developing drones, the drone industry has made great progress. development.

In January 2010, one of Russia's latest "Stork" drones unfortunately crashed during a test. The Russian military had previously planned to develop a military-style "Yuri-E" drone based on this aircraft, which would be used to indicate targets for tactical missiles in the "Iskander" campaign. The crash has forced the Russian military to postpone the equipment plan for new drones.

At present, the Russian army mainly uses "Tu-141" and "Tu-143" drones at the same time.

"Tu-141", also known as "Swift", is a new generation of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft produced in batches by the Kharkiv Aircraft Factory and used for aerial reconnaissance in various battle tactics. Its flight speed is 1,100 kilometers per hour, its range is 1,000 kilometers, and its flight altitude is 50 to 6,000 meters. Although the most effective altitude for reconnaissance is 2,000 meters above sea level, the small and exquisite "Swift" (8 meters long, take-off weight 1,500 kilograms) is not hindered by mountains at an altitude of 4,000 meters. The main onboard equipment is television cameras, thermal imagers and radiation detectors.

The "Tu-143" tactical reconnaissance aircraft, also known as "Flight". It is an autonomous flying drone developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the early 1970s. The aircraft has a range of 500 kilometers and can fly at 15 altitudes, including terrain avoidance maneuvers. Flight altitudes can range from 100 meters to 2,000 meters. According to different reconnaissance methods (photography, television photography and radio reconnaissance), the "Tu-143" can adopt several different launch methods and control its flight according to pre-programmed procedures. If the mission changes, it can also be controlled remotely by ground personnel. It can fly under any weather conditions and can conduct reconnaissance over plains and perform tasks in mountainous areas. During recovery, the drone is slowed down by a parachute and then landed on a retractable skid. The "Tu-143" participated in the Syrian-Israeli armed conflict, but Israel did not discover it, let alone shoot it down.

Subsequently, the Tupolev Design Bureau improved the "Tu-143" UAV, and its successor "Tu-243" tactical unmanned reconnaissance aircraft system was used to carry out operations within a battle depth of 150 kilometers. Aerial reconnaissance, target advance reconnaissance, observation of shooting and bombing effects, it can ensure day and night aerial reconnaissance under any weather conditions in the defense zone of enemy air defense weapons and over possible nuclear, chemical and biological contamination. It can effectively discover important enemy targets, such as nuclear artillery batteries, surface-to-surface missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, transportation hubs, positions and troop assembly areas, division command posts, etc. The reconnaissance information obtained and recorded will be received, processed and decoded on the reconnaissance aircraft and on the ground in a timely manner, the target will be identified and its coordinates determined, photographic documents will be produced and intelligence will be transmitted.

Currently, the new UAVs being developed by Russia mainly include the SukhoiS-62 strategic UAV. It is equivalent to the US "Global Hawk" strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It mainly uses modular reconnaissance equipment, which can be used for image collection, information intelligence reconnaissance and electronic interference. After the aircraft is equipped with troops, it will greatly improve the strategic combat capabilities of the Russian army.

UK:

On November 13, 2009, BAE Systems completed the first flight of the "Praying Mantis" UAV in a technology verification program funded by the British Ministry of Defense. The first flight successfully conducted a series of tests, verifying the capabilities of the UAV system and its potential to meet the UK's future operational needs. In addition, this work also enhances the UK’s confidence in independently developing medium-altitude and long-endurance UAV systems. At present, the British "Mantis" and the French "Neuron" are both masters of Europe's advanced aviation technology.

The Royal Air Force will use the "Reaper" drone to monitor security in London during the 2012 London Olympics. This type of drone is equipped with infrared sensors, radar scanning devices, electronic monitoring equipment and high-definition camera equipment. This type of drone will be used to monitor suspicious people and vehicles moving near sports venues. The speed of the Reaper drone can be increased to 400 kilometers per hour and it can fly continuously for 14 hours at an altitude of 15,000 meters. When the "Reaper" UAV performs combat missions, it can carry four "Hellfire" AGM-114L or AGM-114K anti-tank missiles and two 250-kilogram laser-guided bombs. The Royal Air Force currently has three Reaper drones, which are currently deployed in Afghanistan to perform combat missions.