The R18 is a
Ukrainian unmanned combat aerial vehicle
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircra ...
designed to attack enemy targets with
ammunition
Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...
. It was developed by Ukrainian organization
Aerorozvidka. The R18 is in service with the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
, which has been ongoing since 2014.
History
In 2016,
Aerorozvidka started a program to develop the prototypes of its
unmanned aerial vehicles
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
. In 2019, the model was tested and saw use during a special operation in the
ATO zone.
[«Нехай гине залізо, а не наші люди». Як українська Аеророзвідка перемагає окупантів у «війні дронів»]
ShoTam. 22.06.2022
Purpose
The R18 has both 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
Combat use of the R18 started in 2019 during the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
.
[Октокоптер R18: як український дрон допомагає знищувати ворогів на фронті]
Fakty, ICTV. 10.07.2022[Помічники «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](_blank)
Militarnyi. 15.04.2022[Fighters of “Aerorozvidka” detachment destroyed the Russian Т-90 “Vladimir” tank](_blank)
Militarnyi. 11.05.2022 armored vehicles,
[Ukrainian forces dropped explosives on the Russian equipment from the UAV](_blank)
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 (, ) is a Rural settlement#Ukraine, rural settlement in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located northwest of the capital Kyiv. It hosts the administration of Hostomel settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Populatio ...
. Through horizontal communications, representatives of
Aerorozvidka 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 and have 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;
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.
...
;
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
The R18 is a
multirotor type unmanned aerial vehicle. It is an octocopter, that is, a multicopter with eight propellers. Accordingly, the drone has 8 electromotors. This number of electromotors provides greater reliability. The drone is capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Both Ukrainian and imported components are used in its construction.
[Український бойовий октокоптер R18 уразив танк ЗС РФ (відео)]
Focus
Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film
*Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel
*Focus (2015 ...
. 02.08.2022
Armament
To use the R18 drone as a bomber,
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
RKG-3 HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
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](_blank)
Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
. 05.09.2022[Watch: Ukraine Used Drones to Drop Bombs on 36 Different Tanks](_blank)
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 (, ), 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 dealt with any activity that was considered oppositio ...
. 10.07.2022[Військові показали кадри ефективної роботи бойового дрона R18 по техніці окупантів (відео)]
UNIAN
The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...
. 16.06.2022[R18 octocopter from Aerorozvidka – Ukrainian drone destroying the enemy](_blank)
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
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
. 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)]
Focus
Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film
*Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel
*Focus (2015 ...
. 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. Aerorozvidka. 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 32,5 Ah 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 the 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](_blank)
AIN.UA. 28.07.2022
See also
*
List of unmanned aerial vehicles
References
External links
*
Inside the elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts: 'We are all soldiers now.' Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
. 09.04.2022
Small Quadcopters Rule The Battlefield In Ukraine — Which Makes Their Chinese Manufacturers Very Unhappy Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
. 29.04.2022
Ukraine’s Next-Gen Anti-Tank Drones Are Bigger, Tougher And Much Smarter (Updated: New Video) Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
. 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'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
. 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 небоnbsp;— Texty.org.ua. 04.08.2022
* {{in lang, uk}
Усе для Перемоги. 31 військова розробка українців, що допомагає боронити Незалежністьnbsp;— dev.ua. 24.08.2022
Unmanned military aircraft of Ukraine
Multirotor helicopters
Military equipment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Electric helicopters
R18
2010s Ukrainian attack aircraft
