Reconnaissance, artillery tuning, attack – all thanks to UAVs. In recent military conflicts, it is precisely this element that becomes key. Another proof of its importance is the creation of the world’s first Ukrainian drone strike companies. The needs of Ukrainian defenders are growing, so this niche is filled by volunteers and government structures.

Entrepreneur and volunteer Yurii Golik, together with Ukrainian soldier and former tennis player Serhiy Stakhovsky, decided to start the production of wooden drones for the needs of the Armed Forces. The initiators of the project set for themselves several goals: to produce a UAV that would be cheaper than Ukraine’s existing military drones, for example, “Stork”, but better in terms of technical characteristics.

WOOD IS CHEAP AND PRACTICAL

The new drones will have wooden wings, a traditional engine and modern electronics. This will make UAVs less accessible to enemy air defense systems. The design of the wings of the glider will make it possible to literally hover in the air. The developers are trying to make the UAVs as light as possible. Its purpose is deep intelligence. The main task is to fly along the route and take aerial photographs of enemy objects.

“Why wooden drones and why a glider? This is our combat experience. Most Ukrainian military drones are designed to fly as long as the engine is running. A light drone, which is a glider by design, is that it has better aerodynamics. In closed mode, only plans and It can’t be heard. It also saves the energy it takes to fly. If used correctly, it will fly longer in terms of time and distance,” explain the project initiators.

The wings will be made from a special ultralight wood – balsa – which is the lightest wood in the world. These are the classic materials used in sports aircraft modelling. The glider is equipped with a modern control system and an autopilot that allows it to fly under the influence of electronic warfare. It has an automatic return system to the starting point. The wingspan is 1.7 meters. In working condition, this drone is called a “small glider”, but it is only compared to another model. At the same time, the developers say that wooden planes are not their only project.

Another example is a large glider with a wingspan of 3.5 meters and powerful optics. It is intended for in-depth research and correction. Like most modern drones, its fuselage will be made of fiberglass. It is also equipped with a modern control system.

“As a percentage, this project is 50 percent ready, but this is an important stage.

Initially, this aircraft was made of wood. Passed the first stage of aerodynamic testing. The next stages of work are currently underway and will soon fly in a fiberglass fuselage.

Those who started the project did not stop there. The concepts of the two quadcopter models are already ready. “STING A” (Attack) – an attack aircraft. It can carry a combat load of 3.5 kilograms. “STING SG” (SpyGun) is a tracker. At the moment, trials are underway in combat conditions.

“The samples that were already there showed that it would meet the required specifications. It will be easier later on. The effort we put into creating the final product was 50% large trimmer, 90% small recon glider and 99% quadcopter. Then, follow these steps: “We’re going to throw it in: checking the camera, video communication system, etc. We’ll test them first in training, then in combat conditions. At the same time, we’re getting feedback from the military and polishing the product.”

The initiators of the project set several goals for themselves: to produce UAVs that will have high technical characteristics and will perfectly perform the necessary combat missions. At the same time, they should not cost “all the money in the world”.

According to the launchers, their quadcopters and reconnaissance gliders will cost around $2,000. A large glider is much more expensive than a small one – about $12,000 – but much cheaper than similar models on the Ukrainian market.

Some components on the plane will be of Ukrainian production. For example, the management system was developed in Zaporizhzhia.

Ideally, switch to purely Ukrainian components.

“At the moment it is unfortunately impossible, but the Ukrainians are working on it. Why should we enrich the Chinese market by buying components from them? We are no worse than the Chinese: we have some of the best IT specialists and engineers in the world. We have a crazy army that creates war UAVs from nothing. Wooden UAV’ The developers say that the ultimate goal is to build a drone that performs the assigned tasks and consists of Ukrainian components.

PRIORITY – INTELLIGENCE

Gliders will be used for deep reconnaissance and artillery adjustment. Quadcopters are frontline workers. Ukrainian military sergeant Serhiy Stakhovsky announced that the most mobile front-line aircraft “Mavic” can work in combat conditions for up to 40 minutes. This time is not enough for the qualitative adjustment of artillery work.

The new self-made helicopters will be able to stay in the air for up to an hour and a half (if there is no combat load) to reconnaissance. They can be used to support attack groups going on the offensive. The “STING” quadcopter can drop ammunition at the enemy’s position and then continue to engage in combat without landing, making adjustments.

“If you don’t have a large human component, it can be replaced with UAVs. They saved us at the beginning of the war. We found the enemy arms in advance and were able to destroy them effectively. UAVs have become a formidable and effective weapon, despite being a frontline consumable,” he said.

MILITARY EFFICIENCY – 101%

Financing of drone production will be undertaken by the project initiators. They call it their civic duty. Defense forces units will receive the UAVs for free and will be able to improve them by providing feedback to the developers on the effectiveness of the UAVs.

“We don’t want to be part of the state program. In our view, it’s our civic duty: you can’t lose the country by doing nothing or you can work. We’re prepared to do those things throughout the entire period as long as the war continues. Drones have performed well in war. Now this is an attempt to solve the problem of subdivisions. The price doesn’t play a role for the units that will receive them. The main thing is quality and our goal is to achieve this by 101 percent. In terms of price, the main thing for us is to lower it, so that the resources we have the opportunity to spend on the war are enough for the implementation of this project. Instead of 2-3, which is very expensive making 20 of your own drones is great! In addition, other funds should be included, but we do not want to be an example to anyone,” said the developers.

They emphasized that they are not pioneers in the field of drone production. UAVs are built by a number of volunteers. Over time, operators will have to switch from Mavic to other types of Ukrainian-made UAVs. This will allow Ukraine to be independent of foreign supplies of such weapons.

DRONES ARE COMPONENT OF FUTURE VICTORY

The developers of the new UAVs believe that it is an excellent opportunity to surpass Russia in the production of drones.

“There will be a technological confrontation next. Technically we have a chance to overtake them (the Russians) because they are under sanctions and our partners are helping us. If we have more drones, then we will have less personnel losses – that’s the arithmetic,” Stakhovsky concluded.

New UAVs are expected to enter service with SOU units within a month.

Vitaly Tkaçuk

Yuri Golik’s photo