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DanielR

Oct 28, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X

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🧵1. A captured #Russian first-person-video #drone was carrying three charges from rocket-propelled grenades. This is a lot of weight for a small drone to carry. A previous captured drone carried a 4.8 kg explosive.
t.me/serhii_flash/1…

2. These hobby-grade drones were never meant to carry a payload. Instead they were meant to be fast. How are they now carrying such large payloads?

3. A casual inspection shows a fairly standard quadcopter drone. The frame is made from carbon fibre and there are a few 3D-printed parts but nothing special. (The video transmitter & ELRS receiver require a closer look but that’s a different thread.)

4. However a closer inspection reveals a very simple modification. Each of the arms holding a motor has been reinforced with a rectangular carbon rod. Each rod is held in place with heat-shrink tubing.
t.me/serhii_flash/1…

5. A rod runs the full length of each arm. This is a very inexpensive and easy modification that greatly enhances the performance of the drone. We are seeing more modifications and customizations of drones as the war progresses.

6. (ps) I am bewildered why a thread on using heat-shrink tubing got 30,000 impressions. If you liked this, please have a look at my previous posts.

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More from @DanielR33187703

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Sep 8

1. This soldier was very excited because he scored a jet engine. A big question is, what drone is this a part of? Cutting up a drone before taking photos is common, and makes identification a more interesting challenge.

2. The engine is mounted on a pylon but there are no markings to work with. It is hard to even be sure if this a Ukrainian or a russian drone. It is common for drones to have been cut up to remove the warhead & useful components.

3. The engine is most likely made in China and has a "360" label, which is probably its size. But this is an unusual size so it could be a knock off. Note the four mounting straps.

Read 5 tweets

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Aug 14

1. It is beautiful but is this reconnaissance drone too good to use in a war? The various reconnaissance drones flown in Ukraine are well made and usually expensive. But are they too expensive?

2. At the start of the war, Ukraine obtain several Penguin-C military drones made in Latvia by UAV Factory (now called, Edge Autonomy).

3. This aircraft is fairly small but has a number of fancy design elements. The wing and tail are removed for transport. The red triangles show where the fasteners go.

Read 26 tweets

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Aug 8

1. Here is something a little unusual. It is a Zlin Z137T agricultural aircraft (crop duster) equipped with two R-73 air-to-air missiles for shooting down drones. There is no obvious gun so this is likely only for large drones like the Geran-2 (Shahed 136).

2. For reference, here is a Z137T in its tradition role of applying chemicals to a crop. A maximum cruise speed of 252 km/h will be a constraint as a drone hunter.

3. The R-73 missile uses infrared homing and has a maximum range of about 30 km. It is not clear how many of these are in inventory.

Read 5 tweets

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Jun 20

1. What would have been unthinkable a few years ago is now routine. Several Ukrainian drones successfully attacked a russian drone factory located in Dubna, only 115 km from the kremlin. This is a smart move by Ukraine, and there may be more to this attack than at first seems.

2. Importantly, one video showed several drones attacking, one after the other. Oddly, there was remarkably little air defence heard as each drone approached over a lake. What happened to russia’s air defence?

3. This shows the factory with the lake on the left (west) side. This building is very large. The camera operator (for #1) was quite close and was almost hit by shrapnel.

Read 24 tweets

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Apr 23

1. Developing a new weapon is hard so why not just copy another company’s design? Fibre optic drones are a hot product and part 4 of this series looked at a company (Skywalker) who developed their own. Other companies have rushed to make similar weapons.

2. Here are two fibre optics kits made by the Chinese company, Skywalker. Opening the boxes is the likely owner of PGI Technology, which operates in China but is effectively russian. Initially, this photo was confusing. Was Skywalker collaborating with PGI Technology? Nope.

3. PGI bought these two Skywalker kits with the goal of copying the technology and selling their own version. The following photos are very unusual since they show the design process. Here is the Skywalker canister with a large drone frame.

Read 25 tweets

DanielR

@DanielR33187703

Apr 4

1. Need to ship weapons? The previous thread in this series showed a small russian company, PGI Technology, making electronic warfare systems in China. But how do they ship these systems & other equipment to russia?

2. PGI Technology showed this photo of equipment being prepared to ship from China to russia. The packing tape has a company name & phone number on it. Note the Wallace restaurant and #24 bus across the street.

3.PGI also showed a video of this heater but it is the background that is interesting. Visible is the company name (3188 Kapro) and a phone number. There are also signs on the steps written in russian.

Read 14 tweets

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