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Trying to outrun Ukrainian drones? Kursk traffic cams still issue speeding tickets.
(arstechnica.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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That interesting bit about the M-38 highway being within Ukrainian FPV drone range.
And unsaid but that must include the rail line that runs alongside the highway.
Although that is likely from special ops teams for them to get that far.
With good directional antennas, the correct frequencies and analog signals and maybe last-mile AI/image recognition, 30-50 miles should be easy. You could even use a high altitude drone as a signal repeater for even more range with minimal latency.
For perspective: I could communicate with ham radio repeaters using a 5W transmitter and a basic whip antenna at about 150 miles, at 220/440mhz, because the repeater was in a high enough spot, on a distant mountain. Granted, that was only voice but it's still a good representation of what kind of range you can get.
Digital signals at higher frequencies wouldn't have much of a chance.
Edit: We are entering a period of high solar activity as well. While atmospheric bounce is usually reserved for other bands (usually 10m, or ~29mhz) it can absolutely be a thing with higher frequencies now.
I've been wondering about how practical it is to extend FPV drone range by also deploying them from larger vehicles.
Like, remember that fixed-wing foamboard drone that Australia shipped some of to Ukraine a while back? Those are pretty expendable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sypaq_Corvo_Precision_Payload_Delivery_System
That thing can haul 6kg 80km.
https://www.politico.eu/article/future-warfare-400-army-strike-drone-unit-2m-tank/
So that's up to 3.5kg.
The FPV is more-maneuverable, cheaper, and faster than the PPDS.
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/DRONES/dwpkeyjwkpm/
That'd be a substantial range increase.
I don't know what risks might be associated with having a non-one-use drone, though. Like, if you want to use the "carrier" drone multiple times, it might be possible for a reconnaissance drone to follow it back, wait for someone to retrieve the thing, and then drop artillery on the spot or something.
Could also just expend the fixed-wing drone as a single-use weapon, though then it increases the cost of the drone by a factor of several times.
I remember seeing some testing videos of Baba Yaga's being used as launch platform for other drones and according to Wikipedia, it can function as a control repeater as well.
But yeah, the concept is solid regardless of the "how". If your carrier drone is only half way to the front (or just over) and used to launch kamikaze drones, the risk is probably minimal but probably more time consuming than anything else.