Aeroprakto A-22.
rayner aircraft photography
To carry out the largest attack ever targeting a strategic Russian industry, the Ukrainian government used an indigenously produced ultralight sport plane, replaced its manned controls with robotic controls, and packed it with explosives. is.
Emergency response video Following Tuesday's attack on an industrial campus in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, 600 miles from the Ukrainian border, it became clear that the drones (possibly two of which hit the campus) were based on Aeroprakt A-22s. A two-seater, high-wing, single-propeller sports airplane.
The Ukrainians' ability to convert A-22s into explosive drones means that the attack on the Alabuga facility, which is reportedly assembling Iranian-designed Shahed drones for Russia's own war effort, was This strongly suggests that this is not the last of the new type of drone.
After all, the A-22 is simple, reliable, and harmless, making it suitable for conversion into a drone. And just as importantly, the books are made in Ukraine and are affordable at just $90,000 each.
To put that in perspective, an A-22-based drone could fly 600 miles over Russian air defenses and drop potentially hundreds of pounds of explosives with high precision, but at a price point higher than that of a U.S.-made aircraft. Slightly more expensive than a single Javelin anti-aircraft gun. Cost of tank missiles. Ukrainian troops fire 100 spears.
The A-22 drone is scalable at the production level. As such, after analyzing the Arabga attack, which reportedly injured 14 people and damaged a drone factory or nearby worker dormitories, Ukraine's Conflict Intelligence Team said: “We anticipate further attack attempts in the future.'' “There is,” he said.
The A-22 is the kind of airplane that a middle-class hobby pilot would buy for fun jaunts around the local airport. “If you're looking for a rugged aircraft that's easy to handle, has amazing short-haul performance, and can (legally) cruise at over 95 knots with plenty of cargo, you've come to the right place.” Arizona-based Raynor Aircraft, which sells the A-22, boasted on its website:
“Control and safety,” Rayner emphasized. “Even without flaps, stalling is not an issue. …At low speeds, control is light and effective —[and] It tightens up at higher speeds, making cruising more relaxed. ”
“Properly calibrated metal construction is durable and resistant to external environments,” the company added. “The best news ever is that it all starts at less than $90,000!”
Control a US Air Force drone mounted on a Cessna 206.
usa air force photo
We don't know exactly how the Ukrainians turned the A-22 into a killer drone, but it's not hard to guess. Recall that in 2019, the U.S. Air Force removed the seats and controls from a 1968-vintage Cessna 206 light airplane and replaced them with a set of computer-driven servos.
“The system 'grabs' the yoke, applies the rudder and brakes, controls the throttle, flips the appropriate switches, and reads dashboard gauges just like a pilot would,” the Air Force Research Institute explained. “At the same time, this system uses sensors such as GPS and inertial measurement units for situational awareness and information gathering. Computers analyze these details to decide how to best control the flight. .”
“Imagine being able to quickly and affordably convert a general aviation aircraft like a Cessna or Piper into an unmanned aircraft, fly it autonomously, and then return it to its original manned configuration.” Alok Das says. AFRL Scientist. “All of this is achieved without making any permanent modifications to the aircraft.”
In the case of the A-22 drone, the Ukrainians are clearly not worried about the removal of autonomous control equipment. The drone is effectively a low-speed cruise missile. Do not return to base.
And as a cruise missile, the A-22 is a real bargain. Considering the price of new controls and explosive payloads, the price of an A-22 drone could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This is cheaper than Ukraine's domestically produced Neptune cruise missile (about $500,000).and it is many Cheaper than the $3 million Storm Shadow cruise missile that Ukraine received from Britain.
What's more, the A-22 has a range of about 600 miles, which is better than the Neptune and Storm Shadow, which only have a range of 200 miles.
The main disadvantage of the Sportplane cruise missile is its slow speed, at most 126 mph compared to the 600 mph that the Storm Shadow can maintain.
In theory, A-22-based drones would be vulnerable to Russian air defenses. In reality, the air defense network is thinly distributed across Russia's vast interior. There is plenty of room for Ukraine's new cheap sport plane drones to move around and attack.
source:
1. Maria Avdeyeva: https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1775405317376913652
2. Dispatch Information Team: https://notes.citeam.org/dispatch-apr-1-3-2024
3. Raynor Aircraft: https://www.leighnoraircraft.com/a22ls/
4. U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory: https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1935442/air-force-research-laboratory-ownedly-conducts-first-flight-of-robopilot-you /
