RUSSIAN designs for a killer attack drone with an assault rifle strapped to it have surfaced online.
Russian social media released a video on Monday showing a flying drone that features a rifle reminiscent of Kalashnikov AK-47.
Video footage of new combat-capable unmanned aerial vehicle with a rifle emerged in late March after Russian arms maker Almaz-Antey filed a patent in February 2018 on what looks like a literal flying AK-47 drone.
Drone is equipped with autoloading smooth-bore Carbine Vepr-12 Hummer features electronic descent and box magazine for 10 rounds.
Flying rifle drone makes shots in automatic mode, continuing to fly with a given course, and if the target is not struck, then you can continue to follow the object without further adjusting the course.
Russia has unveiled a number of unusual drones in recent years, including an underwater drone meant to fight off undersea divers.
https://twitter.com/TheDEWLine/status/1105520017179840515
The unmanned flying machine is essentially a fully functioning AK47 housed inside a set of wings, with the gun’s barrel jutting menacingly from the front.
It was devised by experts at Russian arms maker Almaz-Antey, which filed a patent for the ridiculous contraption in February, 2018.
With no obvious way of propelling itself, it’s unclear how the system would fly, though two bulbs on the wings may act as supports for a propeller system.
Control systems have been designed into the vehicle’s rear stabilisers to help it steer.
But the meat of the package comes in the form of an iconic AK47 wedged into its frame.
This is protected by metal netting, with the gun’s curved 30-round magazine poking out the bottom.
A standard AK47 rifle can fire 600 rounds per minute at targets up to 300 metres away.
Russia has unveiled a number of unusual drones in recent years.
One underwater gizmo revealed last year was designed to fend off military divers using an attached assault rifle.
The Kremlin showed off exploding kamikaze drones last month at Dubai’s international IDEX arms exhibition.
But while impressive in their ambition, many of these gadgets feature serious design flaws.
When it comes to Almaz-Antey’s AK47 drone, it’s hard to imagine how it would ever be useful in combat.
For one thing, the contraption has no way to reload, meaning it can only fire 30 rounds before it needs to head back to base.
The gun’s recoil would also likely cause the light aircraft to spin wildly out of control.
As the AK47 only works against people or unarmoured targets, the drone would need a skilled pilot – flying the machine while firing at small targets would be far from easy.
Defence contractors often file strange patents for wacky military devices and don’t always follow them through, so it’s unclear if we’ll ever see the gun-drone in action.
