Analysis: Belarus army combat drones in military parade 2020

Respecting its traditions as a nation and not intimidated by the collective hysteria of the COVID-19, Belarus held the military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, according to Gabriel Alberto Bazzolo.

Belarus marks 75th Victory Day with military parade where it exhibited new military and security equipment.

The army equipment showed two new combat drones which are locally designed and respond to operational requirements of the Belarusian army.

KVADRO-1400 and «Soaring Tube» Drones

The Kvadro-1400 is made by the Display Design Bureau, “Display“ Design office”, JSC is placed in Vitebsk city. It was founded in 1987.

The enterprise has been specializing in engineering and production of display devices for harsh service conditions. And now is a leader in small drones for the belarus military.

Kvadro-1400 mounts a pair of rocket-launching tubes RPG-26 designed to defeat light armored vehicles, bunkers and close support in urban combat.

It has a 35 kg take-off weight, 25 min operational flight, 54 km/h maximum speed, 5000 mts combat range and a operational temperature range -20º / +35º celsius.

Besides adding a second barrel, the new design puts the weapons on a swivel, allowing the drone to stay relatively on target after firing.

Communications, targeting and combat systems also belong to Display Design Bureau manufacturer, ensuring complete operational independence.

Soaring Tube drone supported one RPG-26, 11 Kg take-off weight, 15 min operational flight, 65 km/h maximum speed and range up to 2000 mts.

UBAK-25 – Reconnaisance and Attack Drone

The Belarusian 558th Aviation Repair Plant (ARZ) in Baranavichy developed prototype strike UHF (UBAK) with a combat range of up to 25 km and modernized the multipurpose UHF “Grif-100” for the use of small-sized small-caliber aviation bombs and missiles.

UBAK-25 is a tactical reconnaissance and strike LHC, with a single-use UAV designed to conduct aerial reconnaissance and engage fixed and inactive targets – openly located manpower and easily vulnerable equipment.

The complex includes two UAVs built on the basis of the previously created reconnaissance UAV 1LA-10K «Bekard-2».

The mass of the UAV is 12 kg. A high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 2.3 kg is located inside the UAV fuselage.

Guidance and capture is carried out on a television image transmitted to the UAV operator. The tactical radius of action for reconnaissance is 25 km, and for hitting targets – 10 km.

For militaries looking to gain an advantage over heavy armored vehicles, the ability to fly an anti-tank drone is likely an attractive proposition. For militaries that might drive armored vehicles, the prospect of small drones in the sky is just one of a growing number of threats to navigate.

The overall trend, for anyone trying to guess at infantry armaments in the next five to ten years, is that air support will be a thing infantry can provide for itself.

The low sky immediately above the heads of people doing the fighting is a contested space. And the armor on the tops of tanks, APCs, and other armored vehicles is again a weak point that can be exploited by a canny foe.

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