Russia unveils "doomsday drone" for atomic battlefield use
The Russians are working on equipment that will be useful in an atomic battlefield. One of the developed devices is the Doomsday Drone. The suggestive name of the Russian machine corresponds to its purpose – the device is intended to measure radiation levels.
The work on the new equipment was reported by the TASS agency, the Kremlin's official propaganda organ. The Russians do not provide any technical information about the new equipment, only a few operational details.
The Doomsday Drone is said to offer a range from 500 metres to 2 kilometres, and getting it ready to operate is supposed to take only 30 seconds. It can be operated from mobile platforms and launched from armoured vehicles. The flight duration is specified to be 20 minutes.
Various scenarios for using the new equipment include reconnaissance of contamination along the route of a column of vehicles or analysis of damage caused by an atomic explosion, including inside buildings.
Atomic Doomsday Drone
"I am confident that common sense will prevail and the world will refrain from using nuclear weapons and our doomsday drone will never be needed. And yet we believe that it would [be] a crime not to prepare for even the worst scenarios," stated Dmitry Kuzyakin, director of the Centre for Integrated Unmanned Systems.
Commenting on the Doomsday Drone work, Dmitry Kuzyakin emphasized that the equipment would have the best features of FPV drones, such as speed and manoeuvrability, allowing it to navigate even in difficult environments like building interiors.
The new Russian drone will carry a set of sensors for measuring the concentration of harmful substances or a dosimeter to assess radioactive contamination along its flight path instead of a combat payload.
The Russian noted that various types of flying reconnaissance platforms—also measuring radiation—already exist. However, they are expensive and complicated equipment, while the Doomsday Drone is supposed to be simple and cheap so that soldiers can use it directly on or near the battlefield.
