R18 is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...

designed to attack enemy targets with ammunition, developed by the Ukrainian organization "

Aerorozvidka Aerorozvidka ( uk, Аеророзвідка, "aerial reconnaissance") is a team and NGO that promotes creating and implementing netcentric and robotic military capabilities for the security and defense forces of Ukraine. Aerorozvidka exemplifies ...

". Used by the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has been ongoing since 2014.

History

In 2016,

started a program to develop the prototypes of its

unmanned aerial vehicles An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

. In 2019, the model was thoroughly tested and used during a special operation in the

ATO zone ATO may refer to: Technology *Abort to Orbit, an intact abort procedure for Space Shuttle launches *Arsenic trioxide a potent chemotherapeutic agent for acute promyelocytic leukemia * ATO fuse * Automatic train operation *Assisted take off Milit ...

.«Нехай гине залізо, а не наші люди». Як українська Аеророзвідка перемагає окупантів у «війні дронів»
ShoTam. 22.06.2022

Purpose

R18 is a drone that has military and civilian applications. The octocopter is used for surveillance and search, delivering cargo, or inflicting damage. As of 2022, the last function in Aerorozvidka is called the most relevant because many other drones with cameras can collect information. The complex is designed to destroy enemy equipment, small fortifications, and warehouses with ammunition.

Application

The combat use of R18 started in 2019 during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

.Октокоптер R18: як український дрон допомагає знищувати ворогів на фронті
Fakty, ICTV. 10.07.2022Помічники «Байракторів». Як працюють на Донбасі наші дрони Skyfist та R18
Delovaya Stolitsa. 16.11.2021 They work with the octocopter mainly at night, using the tactics of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The targets of drone attacks are mostly enemy cannons, tanks,“Aerorozvidka” demonstrated how they are destroying the tanks with the help of R18 drones
Militarnyi. 15.04.2022Fighters of “Aerorozvidka” detachment destroyed the Russian Т-90 “Vladimir” tank
Militarnyi. 11.05.2022 armored vehicles,Ukrainian forces dropped explosives on the Russian equipment from the UAV
Militarnyi. 21.04.2022 and trucks. On the first day of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022, one of the combat units prepared equipment and moved to the area of the airfield in

Hostomel Hostomel ( uk, Гостомель, ) is a city in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast, northwest of the capital city of Kyiv. It hosts the administration of Hostomel settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population of the settlement is app ...

. Through horizontal communications, representatives of

began to communicate with those involved in the events. On the first night, an R18 drone was used to inflict damage on paratroopers at the airport. As of July 2022, 20 crews of R18 drones are working on the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has neutralized more than 100 units of enemy equipment. In June, Aerorozvidka noted that the R18 is used by the Main Directorate of Intelligence, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other structures of the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

;

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

; Security Service of Ukraine; other units of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine.Знайшов, підлетів і влупив. Найкращі операції ударного дрона R18 за 4 місяці. Відео
NTA. 16.06.2022

Characteristics

R18 is a

multirotor A multirotor or multicopter is a rotorcraft with more than two lift-generating rotors. An advantage of multirotor aircraft is the simpler rotor mechanics required for flight control. Unlike single- and double-rotor helicopters which use complex ...

type unmanned aerial vehicle. It is an octocopter, that is, a multicopter with eight propellers. Accordingly, the drone has 8 engines. This number of engines is used for greater reliability. The drone has vertical takeoff and landing. Ukrainian and imported components are used in construction.Український бойовий октокоптер R18 уразив танк ЗС РФ (відео)

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

. 02.08.2022

Armament

To use the R18 drone as a bomber,

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

RKG-3 RKG-3 is a series of Soviet anti-tank hand grenades. It superseded the RPG-43, RPG-40 and RPG-6 series of grenades. It entered service in 1950, and was still being used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan into the 2000s and 2010s, against the v ...

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

grenades are used or RKG-1600 bombs created on their basis by gunsmiths of the Mayak plant (weight of one is 1.6 kg),How Ukraine Uses Obsolete Soviet Grenades To Destroy Russian Tanks From Above

Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. 05.09.2022Watch: Ukraine Used Drones to Drop Bombs on 36 Different Tanks
Brent M. Eastwood, 19FortyFive. 23.06.2022 both of which are capable of neutralizing lightly armored vehicles with an attack from above. The accuracy of hitting with the RKG-1600 is one square meter from a height of 300 meters.Аеророзвідка розкрила удари з БПЛА по об’єктах окупантів
Militarnyi. 11.11.2021
Defense Express. 09.01.2021 The R18 is capable of carrying three such munitions.Українська аеророзвідка тестує новий вітчизняний октокоптер R-18 — можливості та особливості

STB State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it d ...

. 10.07.2022Військові показали кадри ефективної роботи бойового дрона R18 по техніці окупантів (відео)

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

. 16.06.2022R18 octocopter from Aerorozvidka – Ukrainian drone destroying the enemy
Mezha. 26.04.2022 It can fly up to 40 sorties without additional maintenance or repair.«Армія дронів»: як Україна збирається озброїти військо безпілотниками
Deutsche Welle. 14.07.2022

Other characteristics

* complex deployment time — up to 15 minutes; * equipping with a thermal imager — yes; * number of mounts for projectiles — 3 pcs.; * total weight — 17 kg; ** weight without batteries — 6.45 kg; ** the weight of the battery pair is 5.55 kg; ** the weight of the thermal imaging suspension — 490 g; ** useful load capacity — up to 5 kg;Український бойовий октокоптер R18 уразив танк ЗС РФ (відео)

. 27.07.2022 * ammunition drop height — up to 300 m / from 100 to 300 m * speed — 12 m/s; * vertical speed — 2.5 m/s; :File:R18 drone characteristic.jpg.

. 27.05.2022 * wind resistance — 10 m/s; * ambient temperature range — from -15 to +35 °C; * radius of action — 5 km; * application distance — 20 km; * flight duration — 45 minutes; * overall (transport) dimensions — 1200x1200x400 mm; * battery type — Li-ion 6s 24v 32500mah x 2.

Training

The training of one R18 drone pilot lasts from two weeks to a month.

Trials

In 2020, tests of dropping new RKG-1600 training and simulation ammunition from an R18 octocopter took place during command and staff exercises at the base of the 235th interspecies training center for military units and units ("Shirokiy Lan" training ground). It is noted that this was the first time when an Aerorozvidka attack drone was included in the combined combat training program. During testing, drone operators successfully hit all targets.Завод «Маяк» та «Аеророзвідка» випробували ударний дрон на навчаннях ЗСУ (фото)
Defense Express. 06.01.2021

Funding

Aerorovizdka independently collects funds from donations for the production of R18.«Аеророзвідка» збирає гроші на дрон R18 та розігрує знамениті марки
dev.ua. 05.06.2022

Assessments

According to Aerorovizdka, a feature of the use of R18 octocopters at the front in the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been ongoing since 2014, has been high payback. It is noted that with the help of relatively cheap equipment, it is possible to inflict significant losses on the enemy:“One dollar invested in drones causes $1,000 in loses for the enemy”: how Ukraine’s Aerorozvidka works
AIN.UA. 28.07.2022

References

External links

*
Inside the elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts: 'We are all soldiers now.'

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

. 09.04.2022
Small Quadcopters Rule The Battlefield In Ukraine — Which Makes Their Chinese Manufacturers Very Unhappy

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

. 29.04.2022
Ukraine’s Next-Gen Anti-Tank Drones Are Bigger, Tougher And Much Smarter (Updated: New Video)

. 14.07.2022
The Ragtag Army That Won the Battle of Kyiv and Saved Ukraine
James Marson.

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

. 20.09.2022
Ukraine’s R18 drone credited with inflicting $130 million in Russian army losses
Bruce Crumley, DroneDJ. 16.09.2022 *
Повітряні війни. Безпілотні літальні апарати захопили небо
nbsp;— Texty.org.ua. 04.08.2022 * {{in lang, uk}
Усе для Перемоги. 31 військова розробка українців, що допомагає боронити Незалежність
nbsp;— dev.ua. 24.08.2022 Unmanned aerial vehicles of Ukraine Octocopters Military equipment of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 2010s Ukrainian aircraft