Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or combat drones have changed how dangerous operations were earlier carried out. Currently, UCAVs can carry thousands of kilograms which is ideal to transport missiles, other heavy weapons and ammunition. The earliest known combat drone in military was used as early as 1973 by Israel in the Arab-Israeli war. This was called Ryan Firebee, which was manufactured by Ryan Aeronautical company. Inspired by Israel’s success, the US started using drones in military operations by the 1990s.
In recent times, combat drones in military have helped save lives and aid in several missions. Equipped with advanced hardware such as sensors and cameras, all that these UCAVs lack is cost-effective solutions extended by expert professionals. By using the right technology, defense forces can now remotely operate drones in military, without necessarily risking the lives of its soldiers. Although civilians have recently started using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones for hobby and recreation purposes, there are several other benefits that come from these UAVs. These are used in agriculture, transport, and construction industries. However, we shall now focus on the uses of drones in military and how it has revolutionized military operations.
Why are Drones in Military so popular?
Military forces worldwide work hard to achieve one goal — destroy maximum enemies but sacrifice a minimum. This was the core reason why defense technologies such as UGVs and UAVs evolved and have been so very successful. These can be operated remotely even in the most dangerous zones, without reconsiderations as there is no loss of human life. Since these are unmanned and operated remotely, it expels the possibility of losing soldiers by ordering them to enter dangerous terrains.
However, unlike the drones used in agriculture, construction or for recreation, drones in the military need to have much higher precision and accuracy — that makes them even more expensive. Achieving this requires advanced algorithms and powerful sensors that can detect the surrounding and execute the task assigned to it. Unlike other drones that use the pre-built flight control solutions, drones in the military need custom-built solutions designed by those with extensive experience in this field. By using a reliable company to do that, defense forces can minimize inaccuracy and its potentially dangerous aftermaths. Fervimax is a young and dynamic company that has provided custom-designed IT solutions to various sectors with enormous success.
How are drones used by military forces?
Drones in the military have revolutionized the way in which defense strategies are planned and executed. Its success can be reflected by the fact that defense forces worldwide make use of these UAVs for supervision, combat mission, and target decoys. In the next decade, there is a likelihood of over eighty thousand drones being purchased for surveillance and over two thousand for launching attacks. These high estimates are despite the fact that UAV technology does not come cheap — in fact, a single unit may cost around 15 million US Dollars.
Drones as Target Decoys
There are times when a defense strategy may require using drones as target decoys to mislead its opponents and launch an attack from another direction. In the yesteryears, deploying target decoys wasn’t easy and often required at least one soldier to be inside the aircraft, despite the risk involved in such missions. However, this becomes much easier as UAVs and UACVs can be operated remotely. However, as there can be no scope for error, military forces need to engage the services of dedicated professionals who possess the necessary expertise. Fervimax is a Spain-based Business and IT solutions provider and can help minimize the costs involved in flight control and navigational solutions, without any compromise on quality.
Drones for Combat Missions
The payload and precision of UACVs play a critical role in how well a combat drone can perform in a combat mission— so that the drone does not miss hitting the target or achieving the desired impact. Currently, Predator C Avenger, Heron TP, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian are the most popular combat drones that are designed with the necessary hardware capabilities. While the Predator C Avenger by GA-ASI can carry a payload of 2948 kgs, the Heron TP can handle a maximum of 2,700 kgs, which is still quite impressive because it can endure up to thirty hours. The MQ-9B SkyGuardian can take a maximum payload of 1,814 kgs and can fly up to 40 hours when operated strategically. So, the key to getting the most out of these combat drones is by using the right flight control mechanism to manage them.
Drones are used for Assessment and Supervision
Defense troops need to continuously monitor and assess the movements of its enemies and doing this involves risk to life. However, by making use of unmanned vehicles, there are several ways in which this technology can be used to assess and analyze the enemy’s movements. Also, it can be used to figure out where the existing soldiers are and to build communication with them or to pass on useful information. As drones come in all sizes, by simply sending over one with a powerful camera attached to it, one can easily spy on the enemy’s forces. However, since these are operated remotely, there needs to be a powerful flight control mechanism that is adequate to keep it away from being noticed.
Technology plays a critical role in managing UAVs and UACVs which are operated remotely in different terrains and under various climatic conditions. This is why it becomes critical to make use of a flight control mechanism that is compatible with the best navigational solutions. With technologies such as Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) it is now possible to achieve centimeter-level precision. However, the key is to make use of the best flight control and navigational solutions that are compatible with each other and can sustain despite the continuous innovation in this field. Now that requires experience and technical expertise which Fervimax possesses and would be glad to extend. By leveraging the power of expert technologies, Defense sectors can minimize their overall weapon costs as well as the loss of human life.