As part of the United24 initiative, the Ukrainian government will purchase a Danish RQ-35 Heidrun drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was announced by the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, on his Telegram channel. The Heidrun drone is an amazing unmanned platform, designed to perform Low Altitude Close Range ISR missions.
The RQ-35 Heidrun drone will be bought for 6.1 million hryvnias (15.5 thousand euros). According to the minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the unmanned aerial vehicle will allow Ukrainian defenders to carry out aerial reconnaissance tasks without risking their own lives and fearing Russian electronic warfare systems.
Mykhailo Fedorov stressed that the American actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the movie Star Wars, is collecting funds for ten more RQ-35 Heidrun drones.
The RQ-35 Heidrun is a fixed-winged drone that performs ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions – it monitors the environment and collects data for military purposes. Heidrun has a camera on its belly, but it also features IR capabilities. Heidrun flies at a low altitude, helps to spot targets, and transmits that information to the operator in real-time.
The RQ-35 Heidrun drones are produced by the Danish company Sky Watch. It is a reasonably light aircraft and can be launched by hand, meaning no catapults, tarmac, or other means are required.
Heidrun can fly autonomously following a predetermined route while operators carefully monitor the image transmitted by the camera. The manufacturer of the Heidrun also offers special software and a tablet for manual drone control.
The developers claim that the RQ-35 Heidrun can fly under the influence of electronic warfare systems – it is basically immune to jammers. They emit radio interference that usually breaks down communication between the drone and the pilot and causes the aircraft to crash. Russia (and Ukraine) also have drone hunters that allow soldiers to take control of enemy’s drones. Heidrun, according to the manufacturer, is resistant to such attacks.
RQ-35 Heidrun specs:
- Length – 1.07 meters;
- Wingspan – 1.65 m;
- Drone weight: 2.3 kg (complete set with 2 batteries and control system – 28 kg);
- Deployment time: 5 minutes;
- Flight endurance: 90 min.;
- Camera coverage: 360 degrees;
- Maximum speed: 60 km/h;
- Flight ceiling: 3.5 km;
- Control range: 10-12 km (visually), up to 30 km using the extended antenna.
Drones like the RQ-35 Heidrun are extremely important for Ukraine at the moment. All autonomous systems are. Russia is significantly larger and has a much larger army. Russia is trying to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses with numbers and Ukraine needs systems like this to reduce the cost of this war on the lives of its people.
Source: Technology Org