Crunch (Doomsday drone)

Main article: Military drones in Russia

2024: Drone Development

In early August 2024, Russian experts presented an innovative development in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles - an FPV drone designed for use in the event of nuclear strikes. The new drone, which received the conditional name "Doomsday drone," was created within the framework of the "Crust" project by the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CCRB) to control the radiation background and ensure the safety of personnel in extreme conditions.

General Director of the CCBR Dmitry Kuzyakin spoke in detail about the characteristics and capabilities of the new drone. The device is compact and can be quickly deployed. The preparation time for the start is only 30 seconds from the moment the order is filed.

source = Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The new FPV drone is capable of being in the air for up to 20 minutes with active maneuvering. Its range of operation varies from 500 m in zones of continuous infection to 2 km in zones of variable infection, which is determined by the conditions of signal transmission and terrain features. The main feature of the device is the possibility of its use from armored sealed equipment, including in motion.

As a payload, the Doomsday drone is equipped with a poison sensor or a special dosimeter, which in real time transmit information to the operator about exceeding a given level of hazardous substances. This makes it possible to quickly and safely conduct reconnaissance of the area subjected to a nuclear strike without putting lives at risk.

The developers have provided several scenarios for the use of the new drone. Among them - checking the level of infection along the route of the columns through the affected territories, as well as analyzing the lesions after nuclear strikes in urban conditions and in open areas.

Dmitry Kuzyakin noted that the creation of the "Doomsday drone" is part of a broader program to develop FPV technologies in Russia. The CCBR has already developed more than 20 different scenarios for the use of such devices, including their use in counter-terrorism operations and in combination with armored vehicles.^[1]

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