— What does the Defense Innovation Support Center(COMI) do? What kind of assistance does he provide to the Russian army on the front line?
- The decision to create the Center for Defense Innovations was made at a meeting of the Coordination Headquarters for Assistance to the Mobilized, which took place in March this year at the site of the State Duma Committee on Defense.
The main task of the COMI is to promote the introduction of innovative developments that are necessary for our fighters on the LBS (Line of Contact – RT).
We are talking about expert support and organisational support for promising projects that are in the home stretch. We make sure that all useful products are tested on the front line. Only tests in real combat conditions make it possible to create truly effective weapons.
The products are evaluated by the Expert Council of the COMI, which includes engineers who regularly work in the NWO zone. They are well acquainted with our weapons and with the enemy's weapons, and they try to keep track of the enemy's tricks. The composition of the Expert Council is published on our website, but this is not a complete list.
The Center also provides assistance to relatives of military personnel, who often try to find suitable equipment for them. We tell you what and where you can buy. We also contribute to the humanitarian mission of the headquarters and the Zakhar Prilepin Foundation, he is a member of the Supervisory Board of the COMI.
— Do you financially support innovative developments?
"The Center does not invest in developments, but it does not remain indifferent when our craftsmen need urgent help to create prototypes or serial samples. To do this, the Center attracts investors from among volunteers, caring government officials and businessmen.
— What developments can qualify for COMI support?
"Our main specialization is anti-drone protection. It is no secret that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have a lot of small-sized reconnaissance and attack UAVs that annoy infantry, snipers, artillery and armored vehicles.
To protect against such "birds", camouflage nets, cloaks and capes are needed, but even more so, tactical small-sized electronic warfare (EW) systems, which, believe me, have contributed to the disruption of the current Ukrainian counteroffensive.
- ORK-M1 Integrated Radio-Electronic Set
- © Public Center for the Support of Defense Innovation (COMI)
At the same time, the Center is trying to solve the problem of the shortage of generators, batteries and other devices, without which electronic warfare devices will not work. There should be plenty of all this at the front.
— What tactical electronic warfare systems with the support of COMI are used in the NWO zone?
"In the summer, we provided LBS tests of the ORK-M1 joint radio-electronic set developed by Prichal Ural (Yekaterinburg).
The device is designed to suppress the control signals of UAVs that operate in the frequency ranges of 2.4-5.8 GHz and are used to drop ammunition. ORK-M1 produces radiation that forms a dome up to 150 m high and up to 100 m in diameter.
When drones enter this zone, their communication with the operator's console deteriorates, which prevents them from activating the dropping of shells directly on the protected object. ORK-M1 can be used to protect checkpoints, fortifications, units, stationary positions, buildings and structures. The total weight of the set, including the power source, is only 2.5 kg. Prichal Ural intends to produce about 500 units of ORK-M1 every month.
Anti-drone guns are widely used in the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The COMI supports the supply of Kursk Bulge rifles, which make it possible to suppress enemy drones on eight different frequencies. The power of each jamming unit is 20 watts.
The military is sent guns with external batteries, which are also used to charge walkie-talkies and copters. Currently, about 150 devices are assembled per month, but to cover the current needs, it is necessary to increase production capacity.
The Harpy is another sought-after anti-drone gun. When using it, the drone loses communication with the operator, geolocation, as well as the ability to transmit a video signal to the operator. Typically, an enemy drone lands 20 to 30 seconds after the antenna of that gun is impacted. The Harpy has six jamming channels and is capable of disrupting GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou navigation systems.
However, it should be noted that working with anti-drone guns can cause significant damage to vision. Relevant studies are currently being conducted. For now, we recommend the use of perforation glasses to keep your eyes healthy.
- Harpy Anti-Drone Rifle
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
— What other projects in the NWO zone does the COMI support?
"A very useful product is the Anti-Hunter T-101 Wi-Fi bridge. It allows the operator to be at a distance of up to 15 km from the command post where the head terminal is located. The system operates in the 5 to 6 GHz band and provides fast data exchange. Now about 50 devices are produced per month, but in order to fully meet the needs of the front, it is necessary to produce several dozen times more Anti-Hunters.
In addition, much attention is paid to testing reconnaissance equipment that allows you to track enemy UAVs. With the assistance of the COMI, the Russian military uses the Masterok-4 electronic reconnaissance device. With the help of a special antenna, it is capable of detecting radio emission in the frequency range of 35 MHz – 6.2 GHz. The product is quite easy to operate, quickly assembled, and operates in any weather conditions. The battery life on the main battery is four hours, and up to 12 hours when the additional battery is connected.
The range of detection of enemy drones with the help of Trowel-4 is 2.7 km for the 5.8 GHz frequency band and 3.5 km for the 2.4 GHz band. However, it should be borne in mind that modern UAVs have different technical characteristics, and the power of transceivers varies depending on the distance from the control panel. In this regard, the detection range of enemy UAVs may be somewhat reduced.
To increase efficiency, you can connect a smartphone with drone alert technology to the Trowel or use software to control spectrum analyzers of the ARINST type (they capture pulse signals of digital communication standards – RT).
Also in the NWO zone, drone detection systems such as Sky Eye and Defamir have proven themselves well. The most advanced modifications make it possible to fix UAVs within a radius of up to 10 km.
— Do you support the development of domestic UAVs?
— Absolutely. One of the latest developments supported by the COMI is the redesigned quadcopter of the Autel Robotics EVO Max 4T brand. The intelligence of this "bird" allows you to bypass even the most difficult obstacles.
The peculiarity of the drone is that it is able to fly in spaces where GPS signals do not pass. In addition, the Autonomy Engine built into the bird allows you to perceive objects up to 2 cm in size and eliminate blind spots in the image. Thanks to this device, the quadcopter is able to work reliably even in difficult operating conditions, such as low light or rain.
The drone can climb to an altitude of up to 7 km and transmit a real-time image at a distance of up to 20 km, while its picture quality is 1080p/60 FPS. The drone is equipped with a powerful thermal imager, a wide-angle camera, a ten-fold optical zoom and a laser rangefinder. The flight time can be up to 42 minutes.
- Autel Robotics EVO Max 4T quadcopter
- © Public Center for the Support of Defense Innovation (COMI)
The frequency range used on the redesigned Autel Robotics EVO Max 4T is different - here it is 900 MHz, and wider - 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, 5.8 GHz. It is noteworthy that the frequency of 5.2 GHz at the moment cannot be suppressed using electronic warfare, so the drones of our soldiers are able to effectively perform reconnaissance functions.
— Are there any non-standard means of protection against enemy UAVs among the projects you support?
"The center is trying to replace all the needs of the Russian military in protection against drones. That's why we're constantly testing different masking tools.
The front, with the support of the COMI, receives nets 50 m long and 5 m wide. They perform a camouflage function, but most of all they are needed for anti-drone protection of positions, including artillery ones. It is clear that it is impossible to cover the entire front with nets, but there should be as many such products as possible - several thousand. The practice of their use has shown that they actually become an insurmountable obstacle for enemy FPV drones.
Perhaps one of the most unusual developments is the Kevlar shield, a cape, the so-called "Filatov shield". This is the brainchild of RT military correspondent Andrey Filatov, the author of an evacuation cart and an electric motorcycle. The Filatov Shield camouflages military personnel and at the same time protects them from grenade fragments dropped from copters. The design of the shield allows you to put it on your arm, on your back, it can be used to cover the wounded during evacuation to protect against enemy UAV strikes.
Our volunteers, craftsmen, and small private enterprises are providing great assistance to the military, especially in countering enemy drones. Direct communication with LBS and the efforts of concerned citizens are yielding results.
Nevertheless, our soldiers lack everything that is in the nomenclature of the COMI. For this reason, our Center mainly supports those developments, the production of which is rapidly scalable. Only this approach makes it possible to reduce the shortage of products that are in demand on the front line.